A Chinese dissident in transit at a Taiwan airport pleads for help in seeking asylum

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Chinese dissident known for posting pictures on social media commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown says he had fled to Taiwan and pleaded for help seeking asylum in the United States or Canada. In a video that appeared to be self-shot and posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Cheng Siming said Friday he was in the transit area at Taoyuan International Airport. It is unclear how Cheng was able to travel to Taiwan, the self-governing island that is claimed by China. In May, authorities in China’s southern Hunan province detained Cheng after he tweeted a post commemorating the June 4 crackdown on pro-democracy students at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.