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Wuer Kaixi held by Japanese police
SEEKING DIALOGUE: The leading dissident, who once was No. 2 on Beijing¡¦s
most-wanted student leaders list, could spend 48 hours in a Japanese jail for
questioning
By Shih Hsiu-chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Jun 06, 2010, Page 3
Wuer Kaixi, a former student leader who
escaped to Taiwan after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing on June 4,
1989, poses for a photograph after an interview in Taipei on April 23 last year.
He was arrested by Japanese police on Friday after he tried to push his way into
the Chinese embassy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Wuer Kaixi (§^º¸¶}§Æ), a prominent student leader in China¡¦s 1989 Tiananmen Square
pro-democracy protests, could be detained for questioning in Japan ¡§for some
time¡¨ after he was arrested upon entering the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on
Friday, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said yesterday.
MOFA Deputy Spokesman James Chang (³¹p¥) said Wuer Kaixi was being detained and
questioned by the Japanese Azabu Police Station and that he might be held for as
long as 48 hours before being sent to a prosecutor for further questioning
tomorrow.
Chang said ministry officials stationed in Tokyo haven¡¦t been able to meet Wuer
Kaixi, but had talked to Japanese police to better understand why he was being
investigated.
Wuer Kaixi was charged with illegal entry into the Chinese embassy and
vandalism, said an official who asked to remain anonymous.
He was arrested by Japanese police after he stormed onto the grounds of the
embassy.
In a prerecorded video, Wuer Kaixi, who is now a Taiwanese citizen, said he
wanted to return to China so he could lobby Chinese leaders to openly discuss
the 1989 military action against Tiananmen Square student protesters.
¡§Today, I take this action to go back to China to continue to press the Chinese
government for dialogue ¡X even if this dialogue has to take place in a
courtroom,¡¨ he said.
Wuer Kaixi, who rose to fame during the Tiananmen protests by haranguing
then-Chinese premier Li Peng (§õÄP) during a televised meeting, was No. 2 on
China¡¦s list of 21 most-wanted student leaders.
After the crackdown in Tiananmen Square, Wuer Kaixi went into hiding and was
able to escape to France and later to the US, where he studied at Harvard
University and the Dominican College in California.
He later married a Taiwanese.
On June 3 last year, the eve of the 20th anniversary of the crackdown, Wuer
Kaixi traveled to Macau to announce that he would turn himself in to Chinese
authorities.
He was subsequently deported back to Taiwan.
Exiled student leaders remembered the dead by hosting an online discussion on
his Twitter account.
¡§In the past 21 years, we have never and will never forget them. We are just the
lucky survivors. They are the true heroes,¡¨ Wang Dan (¤ý¤¦), who now lives in Los
Angeles, said in a Tweet.
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