China dissident runs for Taiwan's parliament

(24 Jul 2015) Prominent exiled Chinese dissident Wu'er Kaixi announced on Friday his candidacy for a seat in Taiwan's parliament, saying he wants to serve as a check on the ruling Nationalist Party and help shore up the island's global status. The former co-leader of 1989 student-led pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square said he would fight for human rights, environmental protection and social justice amid a growing wealth divide within the Taiwanese society. At a news conference in Taichung City, Wu'er said he would take a tougher approach to Taiwan's relations with Mainland China, from which the island split in 1949 and remains locked in a tense rivalry for international recognition. Wu'er fled China after the military crushed the 1989 protests, killing hundreds. Unable to return home, he married a Taiwanese woman and settled on the island in 1996. China's authoritarian communist government says its crackdown on the protests was necessary to maintain order and contain unrest. In the years since, the party has enforced strict limits on civil freedoms and rejected any notion of democratic reforms. Taiwan, meanwhile, has blossomed into a flourishing democracy with lively electoral politics and an outspoken media. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...