BANGKOK—A Chinese official who sought political asylum in Taiwan last month but was then deported to Hong Kong, arrived in Thailand last week and has obtained temporary refugee status from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
Mr. Jia Jia, the former General Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Association of Scientists and Technology Experts, defected to Taiwan on Oct. 22. Jia said he wanted to break from the Chinese Communist Party and work toward a democratic China.
The Taiwanese government, however, refused to accept Jia and deported him back to China via Hong Kong. Jia then again sought asylum in Hong Kong and, when his Hong Kong travel visa expired, left for Thailand Nov. 2.
During a press conference in Hong Kong, Jia spoke of broad based discontent among CCP members, intellectuals, and the public at large with the Chinese communist regime.
Jia said he wanted to publicly testify in support of The Epoch Times’ figures, which show that millions of Chinese have publicly renounced their affiliation with the Communist Party through online statements posted over the last two years.
“The fact that 14 million people have renounced the CCP makes me feel compelled to step out,” Jia said.
“Many countries and many governments have refused to believe the reality behind the number and refuse to believe that such a campaign is indeed going on,” he said. “That’s why I felt compelled to come out of China to let the public know the truth.”
The “Quit the CCP” movement was sparked by The Epoch Times’ publication of the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party,” an expose of the CCP’s history and culture that has gained popularity throughout mainland China and the Chinese diaspora. In early 2005, readers of the “Nine Commentaries” began posting online statements renouncing the Party on the Epoch Times Web site.
“I am not afraid of going back to China,” Jia said. “But I am unwilling to let the mainland Chinese people and the international society see the CCP executing its evil threats at will.”
Waiting for Acceptance from a Third Country Jia’s temporary new home, Thailand, is not a signatory to U.N. refugee treaties designed to protect people like him. Therefore, he has appealed to various governments to provide him with a safe country of resettlement so that he can continue his work for a democratic China.
According to refugee regulations, once a refugee is given United Nations temporary refugee status, he or she is under the protection of the United Nations. If local authorities attempt to repatriate the refugee, the United Nation’s role is to negotiate with that government.
In spite of his temporary refugee status, however, Jia still does not feel safe. Other Chinese refugees in Thailand waiting for third-country resettlement have complained that the presence of CCP agents is strongly felt in Thailand.
Although only in Thailand for less than one week, Jia, too, feels he is being watched. Jia said his telephone line was cut off where he had stayed, and that when he moved elsewhere he noticed a black vehicle tailing him when he left in the middle of the night.
But Jia says he is optimistic about his present situation.
“I will not let the CCP feel satisfied!” he said.
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