“Here on the mainland I'm afraid to talk about Taiwan subjects,'' he said.
Still, inviting Li to speak constituted something of a risk for Chinese authorities, who in the 16 years since the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, have been extremely cautious about exposing students to unorthodox political viewpoints.
Li is an inveterate political gadfly, speaking out when the spirit moves him, often to the chagrin of the powerful.
While Taiwan was under martial law in 1951-1987, he wrote nearly 100 books in praise of freedom and democracy. Most were banned, although they circulated widely via the underground, winning the plaudits of intellectuals.
He also spent five and a half years in prison for helping a political dissident sneak abroad during the “White Terror'' — a period of political repression overseen by former Taiwanese strongman Chiang Kai-shek.
— Associated Press
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