By Brian Hioe
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.
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.
According to Lee Ching-yu, Lee Ming-che is currently forced to work ten hours a day, is regularly given spoiled food, and the prison has thrown out his warm clothing. Lee Ching-yu has also stated that, unlike other prisoners, Lee Ming-che receives letters six months after they are sent, has had his bank account frozen. Despite having the right to do so by Chinese law, Lee Ching-yu has not been allowed to bring Lee his medication. Lee Ching-yu stated that her husband asked her to ensure that the media was informed of his condition.
The justification that the Chishan Prison, where Lee Ming-che is currently imprisoned, has given for preventing Lee Ching-yu for visiting is that it alleges that she has misrepresented the conditions of Lee’s imprisonment. It is very likely that China is attempting to punish Lee Ching-yu for continuing to speak out about her husband’s imprisonment.
Indeed, past actions by China seemed aimed at punishing Lee Ching-yu and those calling for Lee Ming-che’s release. Last year, China moved Lee from Chishan Prison in Hunan to Yancheng Prison in Hebei without explanation. China then later moved him back to Chishan Prison, also without explanation. Yancheng Prison is one of two prisons directly administered by the Chinese government. At times, there have also been rumors that Lee has been moved to a facility in Beijing.
It could be that the Chinese government simply intends to show that it has power over Lee’s fate. But the Chinese government likely also does not take kindly to Lee Ching-yu continuing to advocate for her husband’s release.
Namely, some have suspected that China originally intended to release Lee quietly after backroom negotiations with the Kuomintang (KMT). This was observed in a past incident in which Lee Ching-yu was contacted by a man purporting to be able to negotiate with the Chinese government about Lee’s release, stating that if Lee Ching-yu gave up on efforts to go to China, China would quietly secure Lee’s release. The man in question was found to be a former aide of Alex Tsai (蔡正元) of the KMT and Tsai later stated that he had reached out to acquaintances in China about the case. It could be that China originally intended to use the incident as a way to bolster the KMT’s reputation in Taiwan domestically as the only party in Taiwan able to conduct relations with China.
However, Lee Ching-yu’s advocacy may only make China look worse in Taiwan, as whenever Lee Ching-yu goes to China, this proves a public spectacle that does not reflect well on China in Taiwan and internationally. This may be why China would prefer to silence her by threatening to cut off access to her husband.
Either way, close to 700 days after Lee’s detention, those that call for Lee’s release have also been critical of the administration of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the DPP for not taking more action on the issue. While New Power Party (NPP) legislators and some DPP legislators aligned closely with progressive civil society, such as Yu Mei-nu (尤美女), have taken stands calling for Lee’s release, the Tsai administration more broadly has been largely quiet on the issue. Lee Ching-yu herself recently took it upon herself to travel to the U.S. to continue to advocate for Lee Ming-che’s release. As such, it remains to be seen as to how and when Lee will secure his freedom, then, if at all.
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The News Lens has been authorized to repost this article. The original post was published on New Bloom here. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of The News Lens.
Editor: Nick Aspinwall (@Nick1Aspinwall)
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