Chinese dissidents in Taiwan airport limbo for over 100 days

Chinese dissident Liu Xinglian marked his 64th birthday on Wednesday at Taiwan's Taoyuan airport, one of two refugees who have been trapped in limbo there for more than 100 days, hoping for asylum overseas. Their case has parallels with that of Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, the Saudi teen who was given sanctuary in Canada after she sensationally deployed social media to shame Thai authorities against forcibly returning her to her family. But the Chinese asylum seekers have received little international attention or solidarity. Like Qunun, Liu and his friend Yan Kefen, 44, have applied for asylum in Canada and posted updates on social media from the airport highlighting their plight. "Inside the airport we can't breathe fresh air and there's no sunlight," Liu told AFP by phone from the fluorescent-lit fourth-floor room in transit where the pair have spent much of the last three months, subsisting on a diet of boxed meals provided by airlines. Liu and Yan are hostage to Taiwan's unusual international status and its domestic politics.<br/>