Taipei Times
Date: Sep 13, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA

Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called on the Chinese authorities to quickly release human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲) and said he has ordered agencies to prioritize work to facilitate his return to Taiwan.

“Lee works at a non-profit organization as a human rights advocate. There is no way he could subvert the Chinese government,” Lai said. “I felt sorry for Lee being forced to confess at a trial in a manner nobody could accept.”

Lee on Monday pleaded guilty to a charge of “subversion of state power” at a hearing at the Yueyang City Intermediate People’s Court in Hunan Province.

He admitted to intentionally disseminating information attacking the Chinese Communist Party.

After Lee spoke, the court said it would announce Lee’s sentence at a future date.
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