Chinese blind activist admires Taiwan's democracy

TAIPEI, Taiwan — An activist who fled house arrest in China before moving to America last year has had his first taste of Taiwan's democracy, with raucous lawmakers occupying the legislative floor while he delivered a speech in an adjacent room.

Chen Guangcheng told a packed room Tuesday that he considers the commotion often taking place on Taiwan's legislative floor a normal part of democracy.

He said it's better than "having someone driving a tank to storm the big street," a reference to China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy students on Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Chen arrived Taiwan on Sunday for a two-week visit.

A self-taught lawyer who was born blind, he escaped house arrest last year and sparked a diplomatic crisis when he fled to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.