Former "CCTV" host accused of being beaten by the Immigration Department Liang Wenjie: The video proves that he complied with the law

Cheng Wanjun, a former host of China's state-run media "CCTV", "jumped a plane" to Taiwan to seek asylum but was rejected. Yesterday, he was "returned" to Thailand by the Immigration Agency in accordance with the law. After returning to Bangkok, he made a film criticizing Taiwan as "worse than the CCP" and complained that Immigration officials tied him up, beat him, hooded his head, and even told him in cold blood that "life or death has nothing to do with us." Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Liang Wenjie responded today that Cheng Wanjun struggled fiercely and did not want to board the plane and did not want to get off the plane when he arrived in Thailand. These are all very helpless things. He believed that the Immigration Department would "comply with the law and regulations."

Cheng Wanjun claimed that he was imprisoned in 2019 for publicly criticizing Xi Jinping and was released from prison in 2025. He left the country in October this year and went to Thailand. He "jumped out of the plane" when he was in transit in Taiwan on the 2nd because he was worried about his personal safety and asked for help, hoping to obtain assistance from the Taiwan government. However, the Mainland Affairs Council pointed out that although we hold a position of assisting Chinese dissidents as much as possible, Cheng Nan has no other specific third-party evidence of persecution other than his own statement, which is inconsistent with my country's assistance mechanism and has been returned to the previous destination in accordance with the law.

Regarding Cheng Wanjun's various accusations, Liang Wenjie said at the Mainland Affairs Council press conference that the Immigration Department videotaped the entire process when conducting repatriation. As far as the implementation process of the Immigration Department is concerned, there must be good words and persuasion first, but Mr. Cheng Wanjun struggled fiercely and used various methods to not want to leave or board the plane. Then he did not want to get off the plane when he arrived in Thailand. These are all very helpless things.

Liang Wenjie emphasized that the Immigration Department's execution processes are all videotaped, so Mr. Cheng Wanjun said that it is also his right to accuse the Immigration Department. However, when we perform these operations, "I believe that the Immigration Department must act in accordance with the law and regulations."

Some media questioned that the Mainland Affairs Council supported Huang Zhifeng, who was sentenced to 10 years, but deported Chinese national Cheng Wanjun back. Is there double standards in handling the matter? Liang Wenjie responded that we were helpless when making decisions on Cheng Wanjun’s case because there were several cases every year. When encountering such a situation, on the one hand, we must take into account humanitarian considerations and whether there is an immediate danger of persecution.

Liang Wenjie further said that on the other hand, Taiwan has national security considerations and also needs to consider actual affordability. If he is allowed to come in, and if no third country is willing to let him pass, he will be living in Taiwan. Whether this person can live in Taiwan, and who will bear the burden of his life, these are all things that must be considered.

Liang Wenjie emphasized that Cheng Wanjun’s problem is that we have no way to verify his statement. No third-party group or individual can corroborate the so-called persecution. Cheng also did not provide information. His passport was not restricted by the CCP from leaving the country, and he went to Thailand in the name of tourism.

Liang Wenjie said that after comprehensive consideration, we made the decision to send him back to his previous destination, Thailand. Every decision has an element of helplessness. If Taiwan is big enough, if we have a lot of resources, and there are no national security considerations, we can of course try to contain it as much as possible, but the actual situation is not like this.