MEDICAL ISSUES: Liu Xinglian, who arrived with Yan Kefen in September last year, and has diabetes and hypertension, must remain in Taiwan for medical treatment

Taipei Times
Date: May 22, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Chinese asylum seeker Yan Kefen (顏克芬), who had been stuck in limbo at Taiwan

Taoyuan International Airport for more than seven months, on Sunday arrived in Canada, Radio Free Asia said on Facebook yesterday.

Using his People’s Republic of China passport, Yan on Saturday night departed from the airport and reached Ottawa after transiting through Toronto the next day, the broadcaster said.

Yan and another Chinese national, Liu Xinglian (劉興聯), on Sept. 27 last year arrived at the airport on a flight from Thailand on their way to Beijing, but did not board their scheduled flight to China later that day.

Instead, they filed for asylum with local authorities using refugee certificates issued by the UN.

However, Taiwan does not yet have an adequate mechanism to deal with refugee claims, the Mainland Affairs Council said.    [FULL  STORY]