Breaking
CNNASA's Swift satellite flew over Indonesia, crashed into the atmosphere at 22 times the speed of sound and burned upKRKOSPI falls by 4% due to sharp drop in semiconductor stocks... Activate sell sidecarBR+Millionaire today: results of the 404 contest and numbers drawnCNAttention passers-by! Nanchang Family Reunion Festival in Beijing City debuts on the weekend, and the second section of Nanchang Road is closedKRHeavy rain in November... Heavy rain exceeding 50 mm per hour in eastern Jeju last nightCNThe Democrats swept Congress and the U.S. stock market was reshuffled! AI stocks plunged more than 23%, but "such stocks" soaredCNGrab bargains on Double 11, Penghu County Police Department reminds you to be careful of heavy wallet bleedingKRGoyang City asks to beware of product delivery scams impersonating government officialsCNLarge-scale precipitation will occur in central and eastern my country, and temperatures will hit record lows in large areasCNFormer "CCTV" host "jumped off the plane" and was sent back to Bangkok Liang Wenjie: There is no more evidence of persecutionCNNASA's Swift satellite flew over Indonesia, crashed into the atmosphere at 22 times the speed of sound and burned upKRKOSPI falls by 4% due to sharp drop in semiconductor stocks... Activate sell sidecarBR+Millionaire today: results of the 404 contest and numbers drawnCNAttention passers-by! Nanchang Family Reunion Festival in Beijing City debuts on the weekend, and the second section of Nanchang Road is closedKRHeavy rain in November... Heavy rain exceeding 50 mm per hour in eastern Jeju last nightCNThe Democrats swept Congress and the U.S. stock market was reshuffled! AI stocks plunged more than 23%, but "such stocks" soaredCNGrab bargains on Double 11, Penghu County Police Department reminds you to be careful of heavy wallet bleedingKRGoyang City asks to beware of product delivery scams impersonating government officialsCNLarge-scale precipitation will occur in central and eastern my country, and temperatures will hit record lows in large areasCNFormer "CCTV" host "jumped off the plane" and was sent back to Bangkok Liang Wenjie: There is no more evidence of persecution
Newsgather
All StoriesWorldSportsFinanceTechScienceHealthCultureClimatePoliticsSpace
BackFormer "CCTV" host "jumped off the plane" and was sent back to Bangkok Liang Wenjie: There is no more evidence of persecution
Former "CCTV" host "jumped off the plane" and was sent back to Bangkok Liang Wenjie: There is no more evidence of persecution
Developing
自由时报4 minutes agoPolitics2 min readChinaView original

Former "CCTV" host "jumped off the plane" and was sent back to Bangkok Liang Wenjie: There is no more evidence of persecution

The Immigration Department returned him in accordance with the law, but the Mainland Affairs Council said it could not verify his claim of persecution and did not meet the conditions for assistance.

Cheng WanjunCCTVImmigration Department

Quick Look

  • Former Chinese Communist Party official CCTV host Cheng Wanjun arrived at Taoyuan International Airport from Thailand on the 2nd and publicly asked for help, hoping that the Taiwan government would provide short-term humanitarian protection and assist in traveling to a third country.
  • The Immigration Department sent him back to Bangkok, Thailand yesterday in accordance with the law and did not allow him to enter the country.
  • Liang Wenjie, deputy chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, said that because he could not verify what he said and he did not provide more evidence of persecution, he did not meet the conditions for rescue.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Cheng Wanjun claimed that in 2019, he was secretly recorded and reported for commenting on political remarks at a regular meeting of his work unit. After a thorough investigation under the instructions of senior leaders of the CCP, his unit was purged. He was arrested at Beijing Airport in November 2019 and sentenced to six years in prison for "illegal business operations." After he was released from prison in 2025, he was forced to go into exile overseas in order to publish his prison works.

Font size

Cheng Wanjun, the former host of the Chinese Communist Party's official media "CCTV", "jumped off the plane" on the 2nd to seek asylum from the Taiwan government, hoping for assistance in traveling to a third country. The Immigration Department, the competent authority, "returned" him to Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday "in accordance with the law" and did not allow him to enter or stay in Taiwan. Liang Wenjie, deputy chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, said in an interview at the Legislative Yuan today that because we have no way to verify the so-called content and Cheng has not provided more evidence to prove that he has been persecuted, it does not meet our conditions for assistance.

Cheng Wanjun arrived at Taoyuan International Airport on a flight from Thailand on November 2. He recorded a video and publicly appealed for help online, hoping that the government of the Republic of China would provide short-term humanitarian protection. He said in the video that he was originally the editor-in-chief of "Law and Life" magazine and the host of the "CCTV" Legal Lecture Program, and he publicly asked for help at Taoyuan Airport. In 2019, he was secretly recorded and reported for commenting on political remarks such as "the king who subjugated the country" at a regular meeting of his work unit. After a thorough investigation was ordered by senior officials of the CCP, his unit was purged.

Cheng Wanjun claimed that he was arrested at Beijing Airport in November 2019 and sentenced to six years in prison for "illegal business operations." After he was released from prison in 2025, he was forced to go into exile overseas in order to publish his works in prison. His autobiography, "The Everlasting Soul of Freedom: Confessions of a Chinese Political Prisoner," was published in the overseas Chinese online media "Yipao" on November 1 this year.

Cheng Wanjun also said in the video that in order to avoid a second political persecution by the "Chinese Communist authorities", he had to move to Taiwan for short-term humanitarian protection, hoping to help him complete resettlement in a third country "so that I can continue to create and speak freely for the rest of my life."

In this regard, Liang Wenjie said that because we have no way to verify what Cheng said, he did not provide more evidence to prove that he was persecuted, and his travel document was not restricted and he could freely enter and exit mainland China, so we believe that he does not meet our rescue conditions.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • Taiwan will continue to maintain strict verification standards for cases similar to Cheng Wanjun's and will not easily provide humanitarian protection.

    Likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

  • Which third country will Cheng Wanjun be eventually relocated to?
  • The specific evidence and details of the persecution described by Cheng Wanjun
  • Will Taiwan adjust its humanitarian protection standards for similar cases?

Related Topics

Cheng Wanjun
PeopleLiang Wenjie
OrganizationsCCTVImmigration DepartmentContinental Councilreport
PlacesTaoyuan International AirportthailandbangkokBeijing
TopicsCCTVImmigration DepartmentMainland Affairs CouncilLiang WenjieTaoyuan International Airporthumanitarian protection
This article was originally published by 自由时报.

Related Stories

Trump made his first public appearance since the midterm election defeat: If he had it to do over again, he would still choose to go to war with Iran
Developing·

Trump made his first public appearance since the midterm election defeat: If he had it to do over again, he would still choose to go to war with Iran

After the U.S. midterm elections, the Republicans lost and the Democrats took control of the House and Senate. Vice President Vance pointed out that the Iran war was the reason for the Republican Party's defeat. President Trump said that if he had to go to war again, he would still go to war. He also said that he would live in harmony with the Democratic Party but would veto bills he did not like. If he was impeached, he would "destroy" the Democratic Party.

自由时报
2 min read
Zhang Junjie smuggled out of the country! The CCP supports Gao Jin Sumei and Liang Wenjie blasts: The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is not allowed to talk.
Developing·

Zhang Junjie smuggled out of the country! The CCP supports Gao Jin Sumei and Liang Wenjie blasts: The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is not allowed to talk.

Non-party legislator Gao Jin Sumei was interviewed by Taiwan's High Prosecutor's Office for violating the national security law and ordered to restrict her travel abroad. China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian criticized the "DPP authorities" for manipulating justice and creating green terror. Liang Wenjie, deputy chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council, refuted that the Zhang Junjie case and the Gao Jin Sumei case are Taiwan's internal judicial cases and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is not allowed to speak out. Zhang Junjie was on the run in connection with the Communist espionage case and smuggled out of the country from Zhengbin Fishing Port in Keelung on October 28. The Coast Guard intercepted the fishing boat involved in the case early yesterday morning and arrested the captain. Zhang Junjie is no longer on the boat.

自由时报
2 min read
Can you still hold a Twin Cities Forum if you are wanted? Shen Boyang talks about "China's flexibility": Superficial suppression will definitely happen
Developing·

Can you still hold a Twin Cities Forum if you are wanted? Shen Boyang talks about "China's flexibility": Superficial suppression will definitely happen

Shen Boyang, Taipei mayoral candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party, said in an exclusive interview that the exchange framework of the Taipei-Shanghai Twin Cities Forum can be retained, but there must be no political preconditions, and there should be no more military exercises. He believes that if elected, the mayor of Shanghai may not be willing to co-organize the event, and points out that China adopts a flexible approach to exchanges of "superficial suppression and factual exchange". The Chongqing Public Security Bureau is wanted for him, but the Shanghai Public Security Bureau may regard him as irrelevant.

自由时报
3 min read
Jiang Wanan's consumption of Baolin case is regarded as political achievement. Shen Boyang bombarded: The city government will only say "it has done a good job"
Developing·

Jiang Wanan's consumption of Baolin case is regarded as political achievement. Shen Boyang bombarded: The city government will only say "it has done a good job"

Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang criticized Chiang Wanan for claiming in a TV debate that the collective food poisoning case at Baolin Teahouse was handled well, but the victims' families said they were not compensated. Shen Boyang believed that this made the victims and their families feel sad.

自由时报
2 min read
Choose five waves! Shen Boyang reveals the key to winning: just one final kick
Developing·

Choose five waves! Shen Boyang reveals the key to winning: just one final kick

Shen Boyang, Taipei mayoral candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party, said that the last month of the election campaign was all about turnout, with support rising from 30% behind to 50%, just one step away. He criticized the Education Bureau for "asking A and answering B" regarding the dispute over "2 grams of fragrant pine" lunch ingredients for elementary school students, and asked the city government to explain and build trust.

自由时报
2 min read
More on this topicCheng Wanjun