Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che released from China says global help worked

Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2017 and charged with subversion of state power 

A Taiwanese human rights activist who served five years in jail in China said that international pressure and the tireless advocacy of his wife worked to ensure his safe return to Taiwan.

“I know that my life's safety and security were defended by many people, thanks to everyone, I have never felt abandoned or alone,” Lee Ming-che said at a press conference on May 10 in his first public appearance since being released from prison.

Mr. Lee was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2017 and charged with subversion of state power. His arrest was China’s first criminal prosecution of a non-profit worker since Beijing passed a law tightening controls over foreign non-governmental organizations in 2016.

His arrest marked a turning point as China showed that it would not hesitate to prosecute Taiwanese individuals for political activism, regardless of the harm it would bring to cross-strait relations. It also raised public awareness in Taiwan of the tangible consequences of China's authoritarian rule on individuals as relations between Taiwan and China worsened with the election of President Tsai Ing-wen.

China claims Taiwan as a part of its national territory and has not ruled out force to bring the island under its rule. Taiwan is, in practice, self-ruled.

Mr. Lee had given online lectures on Taiwan’s democratisation and managed a fund for families of political prisoners in China that some friends had set up.

“I did what I could do, using my credit card to buy some books," he said, which he would send to friends in China. He would also give donations to the families of political prisoners. “This is not to interfere with the country's internal affairs. All of this was simply a way of humanitarian caring.”