The Chinese government yesterday said that rights campaigner Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who has been detained on suspicion of endangering national security, was in good health and that it had reassured his family in a letter.
Lee is a staff member of Wenshan Community College in Taipei, a former Democratic Progressive Party employee and is known for supporting human rights. He went missing in China on March 19, and Beijing later confirmed his detention.
Lee’s case is still being investigated, Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
“At present, Lee Ming-che’s health is good, and there are no concerns about medical care. He has clearly explained the relevant situation to his family in a letter,” Ma said.
Lee’s family and the government have been frustrated at not being told where Lee is being held, and Ma did not answer when asked about his location or give further details of the charges Lee could face.
Lee’s wife, Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), was barred from traveling to China earlier this month after saying she received the letter through unofficial channels and that she could not verify the letter was from her husband.
A potential diplomatic confrontation was averted last week, after a Chinese activist who had reportedly intended to seek asylum in Taiwan flew back home.
National Immigration Agency officials had apprehended Zhang Xiangzhong (張向忠) after he left his tour group and he requested political asylum.
The Mainland Affairs Council said that Zhang did not meet the requirements for “special long-term residency,” and that he left on Wednesday last week after his asylum bid was rejected.
Ma confirmed that Zhang had arrived in China and that authorities were investigating the case, but he gave no details.
Additional reporting by staff writer
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS