Speculation that China would negotiate with the KMT for the quiet release of the Taiwanese democracy advocate feels like ancient history.
The News Lens
Date: 2019/02/08
By: Brian Hioe, 破土 New Bloom
Credit: AP / Chiang Ying-ying
As Taiwanese NGO worker Lee Ming-che (李明哲) approaches his 700th day in jail, Chinese actions to retaliate against his family for efforts to continue to advocate for his release have escalated. Namely, Lee has been transferred jails several times without any adequate explanation as to why from Chinese authorities in the past half year. And while Lee Ming-che’s wife, Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), was previously allowed to visit him, China recently refused all further visits from Lee Ching-yu until April.
It remains largely unknown as to why Lee Ming-che was arrested and tried by China. Lee, a former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) staffer and human rights NGO worker, disappeared after entering China from Macau in March 2017. Lee was charged with attempting to “subvert state power” on the basis of that Lee had been in communication with Chinese nationals regarding Taiwan’s experience of democratization. As such, Lee was sentenced to five years in jail.
Credit: WeiboLee MIng-che (R) while on trial.
Lee’s case was notable as an incident of a Taiwanese citizen being treated as a Chinese citizen. Lee’s case was also thought to be the first case of a foreign NGO worker detained on the basis of then-recently passed Chinese law aimed at cracking down on foreign NGOs working in China. It is generally thought that China decided to imprison Lee as a means of intimidating Taiwan.
As Lee Ching-yu should have spousal rights to visit Lee Ming-che, Lee Ching-yu previously was allowed to visit him, and she and family members of his visited him five times. As his spouse, Lee Ching-yu was also allowed to attend his trial. However, Lee Ching-yu was denied visitation rights for Lee Ming-che from September and December of last year. Although Lee Ching-yu was allowed to visit Lee Ming-che in December, Lee Ching-yu has again been denied the rights to visit Lee until April, and it is possible that China more or less intends to indefinitely prevent Lee Ching-yu from visiting Lee Ming-che. [FULL STORY]
