Exiled Tiananmen leader stands as MP in Taiwan
TWENTY-SIX years ago he took on the might of China’s communist government in Tiananmen Square.
His key role in the 1989 pro-democracy protests put him on that country’s most wanted list, forcing him to flee to France and later Taiwan, allegedly with the help of British and American spies.
Now Wu’er Kaixi, China’s most outspoken dissident, has set his sights on becoming a Taiwanese MP.
The former co-leader of the protests, which were brutally suppressed, said he was running on a platform of social justice, environmental protection and a strengthened Taiwanese identity.
Mr Wu’er said he would take a tougher approach to relations with mainland China, from which the island split in 1949 and with which it remains locked in a tense rivalry for international recognition.
“Compromise is not the way forward and patience is simply a delay tactic. Only by taking the initiative can the people of Taiwan take control of their fate,” he said in a statement.
He fled China after the military crushed the 1989 protests, killing hundreds. Its government says suppression was necessary to maintain order.
He has tried to hand himself in to the Chinese authorities on several occasions, but to no avail. Their reluctance to allow him back is reportedly due to their unwillingness to publicly discuss the massacre.
Mr Wu’er married a Taiwanese woman and settled on the island in 1996. The vote for legislators in January will coincide with the island’s presidential election.
Mr Wu’er’s candidacy comes as support for President Ma Ying-jeou and the ruling Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) is waning as a result of a weak economy and growing fears over warming ties with China.
The KMT is expected to lose its majority in parliament for the first time ever and is also tipped for defeat in the presidential race. Yesterday Mr Wu’er said he would push for Taiwan to amend its constitution so that it clearly reflected mainland China and Taiwan as separate entities.
“Actively changing the constitution … will come at a small price and will also give a voice to the people, challenging China and the West to release Taiwan from its shackles,” he said.
But he insisted he was not trying to provoke Beijing, saying: “I’m offering a peaceful solution.”
Protests against “China-centric” changes to the high school curriculum saw 24 students arrested in the capital Taipei yesterday.