Wu'erkaixi achieved prominence while studying at Beijing Normal University as a hunger striker who rebuked Chinese Premier Li Peng on national television.
20 Facts About Wu'erkaixi
2.
Wu'erkaixi was one of the main leaders of the pro-reform Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation and helped lead abortive negotiations with officials.
3.
Wu'erkaixi eventually settled in Taiwan, where he works as a political commentator.
4.
Wu'erkaixi ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Legislative Yuan twice, in 2014 and 2016.
5.
Wu'erkaixi arrived on the scene in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, in mid-April 1989, the very beginning of the student movement, after having founded an independent student's association at Beijing Normal University.
6.
Wu'erkaixi quickly emerged as one of the most outspoken student leaders as the size of the crowds increased.
7.
Wu'erkaixi claimed that he was present at the square when the soldiers arrived after martial law was declared and that he had personally seen around 200 student protesters cut down by gunfire in Tiananmen square.
8.
Wu'erkaixi fled to France through Hong Kong under the aegis of Operation Yellowbird, and then studied at Harvard University in the United States.
9.
Wu'erkaixi was a talk show host for a local radio station from 1998 to 2001.
10.
Wu'erkaixi appears frequently on television programs as a political commentator.
11.
Wu'erkaixi's standpoint has been defending the growing democracy in the island, and promoting civil society.
12.
Wu'erkaixi has often criticized the Democratic Progressive Party, leading some to consider him to be a Pan-Blue supporter.
13.
Wu'erkaixi has expressed a strong desire to return to mainland China to see his parents, whom he has not seen since 1989 after fleeing mainland China under Operation Yellowbird.
14.
Wu'erkaixi has been unable to enter the mainland, and his parents have been unable to obtain passports to see him overseas.
15.
Wu'erkaixi again attempted to turn himself in at Hong Kong in late 2013, and was deported to Taiwan .
16.
In December 2013, Wu'erkaixi helped with the launch of a Chinese version of the anonymous and ephemeral communication platform Kwikdesk.
17.
Wu'erkaixi's testimony was filmed for the feature documentary The Exiles which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.
18.
Wu'erkaixi has ties to center-left and progressive human rights and political organizations.
19.
In December 2014, Wu'erkaixi announced his candidacy for the legislative seat formerly held by Lin Chia-lung, who had earlier defeated Jason Hu for the mayoralty of Taichung in the local elections.
20.
Wu'erkaixi, backed by the Constitutional Reform Fraternity Coalition, launched an unsuccessful second bid for the Legislative Yuan in July 2015.