Chen issues stern warning to Beijing

TAIPEI

Arriving with his wife Yuan Weijing, Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng (C) greets the media at the Taipei International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Activist Chen Guangcheng has made a stern warning to Chinese leaders during his visit to Taiwan, saying their efforts to crush opposition forces or suppress human rights will only backfire.

Chen said yesterday he is convinced that the rapidly growing yearnings for freedom and human rights among the Chinese will eventually “put an end to the authoritarian rule” in China. Blind activist Chen flew to Taiwan on June 23 on what organizers called a “trip for freedom and human rights,” likely to spark Chinese anger. Chen flew to the northern Taoyuan airport late June 23 night from the United States, after New York University (NYU) announced earlier this month that it would be parting ways with the dissident.

Chen, 41, had been in New York since May last year after he escaped house arrest and fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing, triggering a brief crisis in relations between China and America. Relations between Taiwan and China have warmed since 2008, after President Ma Ying-jeou came to power on a platform of beefing up trade and tourism links.