The family of Bruce Chung (鍾鼎邦) pleaded with the government for the second time in 10 days to do something about his detention in China.
Chung, a 53-year-old Falun Gong practitioner, was arrested in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, on June 18 as he was about to return to Taiwan and accused of “sabotaging national and public security.”
“We do not want to wait for another minute or another second because his life is at stake,” Chung Ai (鍾愛), Chung Ting-pang’s daughter, told a press conference in Taipei organized by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩).
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
This was the second press conference the family has called after making the same appeal with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers on June 22.
The family has had no contact with Chung Ting-pang since his arrest or been provided with any further details about the case since the first press conference in which they urged the government to help, Chung Ai said.
Hsu made three demands: the immediate return of Chung Ting-pang to Taiwan, the assistance of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) in hiring a lawyer to defend Chung Ting-pang, the arrangement of a family visit and a discussion on how to protect Taiwanese from harassment in China in upcoming cross-strait negotiations.
“We have to make sure that Taiwanese are legally protected before engaging in broader cross-strait exchanges,” the lawmaker said.
Chung Ting-pang’s wife, surname Lee (李), was in tears at the conference, saying the government was the only channel available to the family to seek the return of her husband.
Officials from the SEF, the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Justice attended the press conference, said they had been in contact with their Chinese counterpart since the arrest and were assured that Chung Ting-pang was safe.
Yu Shiu-duan (俞秀端), deputy director-general of the ministry’s department of International and Cross-Strait Legal Affairs, said officials in the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety had given assurances that Chung Ting-pang was safe and well, but provided no further details as to his arrest.
A report last Tuesday from China’s Xinhua news agency said that Chung Ting-pang had secretly collected documents and incited Chinese citizen’s to destroy broadcasting equipment — crimes which endangered national and public safety.
Chung Ting-pang’s background as a practitioner of Falun Gong, which is banned in China, was not mentioned at the press conference.
According to Chung Ai, her family has been struggling with whether to draw attention to Chung Ting-pang’s Falun Gong practice, which government officials suggested would only “complicate the case.”
In contrast, Falun Gong Human Rights Lawyers Working Group spokesperson attorney Teresa Chu (朱婉琪) advised Chung Ting-pang’s family that his Falun Gong background could be used to pressure Beijing.
Between 1998 and 2009, 13 Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners have been detained, imprisoned or tortured in China, Chu said, though they had all been released.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
TOKYO SUMMIT: The new Japanese PM’s words have demonstrated Japan’s ‘firm position on urging the prioritization of cross-strait peace,’ the foreign ministry said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday thanked US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for supporting peace in the Taiwan Strait, a day after the two at a summit in Tokyo emphasized the importance of regional stability and ahead of a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea today. The previous day’s meeting was the first time Takaichi had met with the US leader since becoming Japanese prime minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Since taking office on Tuesday last week, Takaichi has urged the international community to
RSS