DISTRACTEDSome legislators said they are suspicious of Zhang Xiangzhong’s claims because it seems unlikely that Beijing would allow a known dissident to travel to Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 18, 2017
By: Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter

The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said its priority is ascertaining the truth behind Chinese dissident Zhang Xiangzhong’s (張向忠) defection to Taiwan before considering how to process his possible request for political asylum.

On the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in Taipei, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said so far she has only seen news reports about Zhang’s alleged intention to seek political asylum in Taiwan, but he has yet to make contact with any government agencies.

“As the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) does not cover political asylum requests, we normally grant the status of ‘special case of long-term residency’ to Chinese citizens with different political stances,” Chang said.

Should Zhang file a formal request for political asylum with the Ministry of the Interior’s National Immigration Agency, the government would place Zhang under the care of non-governmental organizations while it seeks to ascertain the truth and discuss the issue with concerned agencies, Chang said.   [FULL  STORY]