VZCZCXRO4227
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHIN #0799/01 1610654
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 090654Z JUN 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9118
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 4231
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0787
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH PRIORITY 0701
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL PRIORITY 9640
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE PRIORITY 7319
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 9977
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000799 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/A, INR/IC, P, DRL/MLGA, L/HRR, CA/VO, 
DS/CI, EAP/TC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2018 
TAGS: PREF PREL CVIS ASEC PGOF PINR PHUM TW CH
SUBJECT: TAIWAN RENDERING APPROPRIATE AID TO PRC ASYLUM 
SEEKER CAI LUJUN 
 
REF: A.) 07STATE54846 B.) TAIPEI0561 
 
Classified By: AIT Acting Director Robert S. Wang, Reason(s): 1.4 (B/D). 
 
¶1. (C) PRC citizen Cai Lujun first contacted AIT via email on 
April 2, 2008.  In his email, Cai requested political asylum 
or refugee status in the U.S.  Cai also complained that 
because the Taiwan immigration authorities forbade him from 
working, he was in serious financial distress.  On April 11, 
AIT contacted the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to learn 
more about Cai's case.  NIA confirmed that Cai had entered 
Taiwan illegally in July 2007, had been incarerated for 
immigration violations until December 2007, and upon his 
release had been issued a temporary visitor visa.  NIA also 
confirmed Cai's visa had been extended by three months in 
March 2008, that financial assistance from Taiwan's Mainland 
Affairs Council (MAC) was available, and that MAC was 
actively pursuing asylum options for Cai in other countries. 
AIT replied to Cai via email on April 16, relating the 
impression that the Taiwan authorities were responding 
appropriately to his case.  Cai replied by email on April 17, 
urging AIT to persuade the Taiwan authorities to allow him to 
work.  Cai also claimed he would be unable to find asylum in 
a third country because he did not hold and would be unable 
to obtain a valid PRC travel document, and that Taiwan's 
application to the UNHCR on his behalf would be ignored 
because Taiwan is not a UN member state.  (See Ref B). 
 
¶2. (C) On May 28, AIT met with MOFA Department of Treaty and 
Legal Affairs Section Chief Chen Shou-han and Senior Desk 
Officer Huang Jen-liang to determine the status of Mr. Cai's 
asylum requests and, if those efforts are ultimately 
unsuccessful, the chance Mr. Cai might be able to fashion a 
reasonably normal life in Taiwan. 
 
¶3. (C) According to Chen, Taiwan currently has five other PRC 
nationals residing in Taiwan as they await resettlement in a 
third country.  AIT can confirm that several have resided in 
Taiwan for three years or more.  All, like Mr. Cai, have been 
determined by the Taiwan authorities to be bona fide 
democracy activists, said Chen.  Taiwan does not have an 
asylum or refugee law, he continued, and therefore cannot 
offer any form of permanent legal residency status to those 
seeking asylum or refuge in Taiwan.  Accordingly, Cai and the 
five PRC nationals who preceded him have all been given 
"temporary" residency status, and this status is 
automatically extended every three months.  Chen assured us 
that none of the PRC nationals in Taiwan, including Mr. Cai, 
were in any danger of repatriation to China.  Chen noted that 
there is a draft asylum/refugee law currently before Taiwan's 
Legislative Yuan (LY).  Although MAC and MOFA are pushing for 
it to be passed and implemented before next year, there is no 
way to guarantee this will happen.  Until an asylum law is 
passed, added Chen, PRC asylum seekers will continue to 
receive automatic extensions to their "temporary" resident 
status.  Until the law is passed, said Huang, Cai and the 
other PRC nationals cannot be afforded permanent legal 
status, and they will continue to be precluded from working 
in Taiwan. 
 
¶4. (C) Referring to Mr. Cai's claims of financial insolvency, 
AIT asked whether he had approached MAC for financial 
assistance.  Cai has not applied for any financial aid, 
replied Chen, but if he did, MAC would provide him a monthly 
stipend of NT$20,000 (US $660).  Chen added that a decent, 
one-bedroom apartment in Taipei could be found for 
approximately NT$6,000 (US $200) per month, leaving Cai with 
approximately US $460 a month for food, clothing and other 
necessities.  Chen speculated that Cai was probably already 
working illegally on the local economy, and that the Taiwan 
authorities would probably "look the other way" as they have 
done with the other PRC nationals in residency limbo. 
 
¶5. (C) According to Huang, Taiwan representatives submitted 
an application on Cai's behalf to UNHCR officials in Geneva 
in September 2007.  There has been little progress on Cai's 
application, Huang continued, because the UN considers Taiwan 
to be a part of China.  Thus, from UNHCR's perspective, Huang 
explained, Cai is still a resident of the PRC, and 
technically unable to file a petition for asylum or refugee 
status from his "home country."  Huang requested U.S. 
assistance in persuading UNHCR to afford Cai refugee status. 
 
¶6. (C) MAC is also preparing to submit an asylum petition to 
Canadian authorities through the Taiwan representative office 
in Ottawa.  Huang said Cai had instructed MAC to apply to no 
other countries except Canada, and that MAC was honoring this 
instruction.  The application will be filed with the Canadian 
authorities by the end of June, added Huang, who agreed to 
notify AIT when the petition was filed. 
 
¶7. (C) Chen and Huang said the Taiwan authorities would 
welcome a U.S. decision to extend asylum or refugee status to 
Cai.  We noted that Taiwan had well-established and reliable 
mechanisms to assist asylum seekers and to protect their 
rights, and that in such circumstances, it was U.S. policy to 
allow the "host government" to administer such cases. 
 
¶8. (C) Comment: Based on the foregoing, it is our assessment 
that the Taiwan authorities have sufficient laws and 
regulations in place to assure Cai's rights, that there is no 
evidence to suggest Cai will be forcibly repatriated to the 
PRC, and that the Taiwan authorities are taking appropriate 
steps to seek permanent residency for Cai in a third country. 
 We also conclude that, although Cai is not permitted to work 
legally in Taiwan, it is unlikely that the Taiwan authorities 
will seek to punish him for sustaining himself through 
unauthorized employment.  End comment. 
 
¶9.  ACTION REQUEST: AIT is not planning to take further 
action on this case, pursuant to USG standard operating 
guidelines (2 FAM 229.2, 229.3, reftel A par. 36).  Please 
advise if the Department has further guidance. 
 
Bio Information 
--------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU)  This information was provided to AIT by MOFA: Cai 
Lujun, male, DOB: August 16, 1968, age 39, married (spouse's 
name not provided), Chinese ID No. 130105196808161215, 
Feixiang County, Hebei Province.  PRC Address: 101 Unit 3, 
Building 6, Xishuyuan, Lianmeng Sub-District, Youyi Beida 
Street, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. 
Employment: Hebei Branch Office of Chinese Handicraft Import 
and Export Company (1984-91), Shenzhen City National 
Industrial Corporation (1991-94), China Branch Office of 
Aravinda (German company) (1997-2003).  Imprisonment: 
Arrested February 21, 2003 for using the internet to 
disseminate materials attacking socialism and endangering 
national security, defamatory attacks against the CCP 
leadership, and instigating the overthrow of the national 
government.  Sentenced to three years, and released on March 
2, 2006. 
WANG