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The News Lens
Date: 2019/01/25
By: TNL Daily News
Credit: Yan Bojun / Facebook
Chinese asylum seekers Yan Bojun, 43, and Liu Xinglian, 63, could potentially be allowed entry into Taiwan for “professional exchanges” although a plan has not been finalized, according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said on Thursday that the asylum seekers, who have been stranded in a restricted area in Taoyuan International Airport for the past four months, could enter Taiwan under a proposal still being discussed by government agencies, according to CNA.
Credit: VOA / CC0The customs area at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
The two Chinese nationals arrived in Taiwan from Bangkok on Sept. 27, 2018 after leaving Thailanddue to fears of arrest, according to New Bloom. They then skipped a scheduled flight to Beijing, instead claiming asylum due to what they said was a threat of political persecution in China.
While the MAC said at the time it could not find evidence of their claims, immigration officers later found that the two men were holding refugee certificates issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). [FULL STORY]
