Taiwanese Human Rights Activist Released From Chinese Prison After 5 Years

In a video released by the Yueyang Intermediate People's Court, Lee Ming-che reads a statement admitting his guilt for “subverting” the Chinese government. (Screenshot via Weibo)

A Taiwanese human rights activist who was “forcibly disappeared” by Chinese authorities while visiting China in 2017, returned to Taiwan on Friday after serving a 5-year prison sentence in China.

Li Ming-che, a volunteer with the Taiwan-based human rights group Covenant Watch, arrived at Taoyuan International Airport on Friday morning, Focus Taiwan reported.

He was detained in China in 2017 and sentenced to five years in prison for “subversion of state power,” making him the first Taiwanese activist detained under the law.

During his trial, Li admitted to having criticized China’s ruling communist party and to having shared articles and arguments promoting Taiwan’s multi-party democracy.

He stood trial alongside Chinese national Peng Yuhua, who confessed to creating instant messaging groups and founding an organization that sought to promote political change in China. Peng was sentenced to seven years in jail.

On March 18, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of Taiwan claimed that Li’s family had been barred from contacting him and had not been informed of the content of his verdict, as well as the specific date of his release.

“Taiwanese society is concerned about Li Ming-che’s health and safety. We call on mainland China to promptly disclose information on Li’s release and allow him to safely return to Taiwan as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.

MAC argued that Li’s freedom was restricted despite his compliance with China’s entry procedures, and that Chinese authorities failed to inform him of his sentence through channels established under cross-strait agreements.

Amnesty International Taiwan said that Chinese authorities “improperly detained” Li and have “no reason” to continue imprisoning him in China.

“During the period of detention in China, [Li] was forced to eat bad food and did not have enough warm clothes. After the epidemic, his family members were rejected 16 times for visit applications, and even family phone calls were not allowed,” it said in a statement.

Shi Yixiang, secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for the Promotion of Human Rights, said that an Asia-Pacific human rights protection mechanism should be established to prevent the recurrence of cross-border human rights cases.

He pointed out that there are currently at least 402 individuals from Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada, and other countries who have suffered human rights violations in China and need to be rescued.

Beijing maintains that Taiwan is part of China and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control, while self-governing Taiwan has shown no interest in being governed by the Communist Party rulers in Beijing.

Reuters contributed to this report.