Multiple groups gathered today to demand China release Taiwan democracy advocate Lee Ming-che immediately after his sentance is over.
Lee was jailed in 2017 after traveling to China from Macao. He was charged with ‘subversion of state power’, the first Taiwanese person ever to recived this charge in China. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and has been in and out of contact with the outside world during this time.
8 civil rights organizations joined together today to say that China should immediately release Lee back to Taiwan once his sentence is finished. They also called for details on other Taiwanese citizens detained in China. They expressed their outrage at the fact that China has still not informed even Lee’s wife, Lee Ching-yu, when Lee Ming-che’s release date will be.
Lee Ching-yu, and others, believe that Lee was illegally detained and has had his human rights further violated since he was jailed, including receiving poor nutrition and withholding of warm clothing during the winter months. Lee Ming-zhe has also been denied visitation rights sporadically in the past, and now completely after the COVID pandemic began.
Some members of these groups believe that his release date is April 14th of this year. As this date approaches we are likely to hear more and more calls for information on and the release of Lee. We can only hope that he is soon home safe and sound with his family.