New Southbound Policy Portal

Human rights activist Lee Ming-che returned to Taiwan April 15 after five years of detainment in China, according to the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council.
 
The government is grateful for the efforts of organizations at home and abroad in facilitating Lee’s release and return, the MAC said. These include Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan business associations in China and the local chapter of Amnesty International, the council added.
 
Lee, a curriculum planner at Wenshan Community College in Taipei City, went missing March 19, 2017, after arriving in China from Macao. During a news conference 10 days later, Beijing-headquartered Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed Lee was under investigation for a “national security violation.”
 
The MAC swiftly protested Lee’s detention, calling on China to immediately disclose his whereabouts, ensure due process of law and allow visits by family members on humanitarian grounds. In addition, the Ministry of Justice and Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation repeatedly attempted to obtain a full explanation of the case from authorities in China.
 
According to the MAC, it was announced in November 2017 Lee had been sentenced to five years in prison for “subversion of state power.”
 
In a tweet on its official Twitter account, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to a tweet from U.S. Department of State spokesperson Ned Price celebrating Lee’s release and homecoming.
 
“We sincerely thank the #US for its friendship & rock-solid support. #Taiwan will keep working with fellow forces for good in defending shared values like freedom, democracy & respect for human rights while upholding rules-based order in the #IndoPacific & around the world.” (SFC-E)
 
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