The government yesterday lodged a stern protest against China’s last-minute revocation of Lee Ching-yu’s (李凈瑜) Taiwan compatriot travel permit, which prevented her from traveling to Beijing to seek the release of her husband, detained human rights campaigner Lee Ming-che (李明哲).
The Straits Exchange Foundation said in a media release that it was notified of China’s revocation of Lee Ching-yu’s “Taiwan compatriot travel document” yesterday morning, several hours before her scheduled departure on an EVA Air (長榮航空) flight in the afternoon.
Foundation Deputy Secretary-General and spokeswoman Lee Li-jane (李麗珍) said that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security had notified the National Immigration Agency of the decision.
The foundation said it had offered Lee Ching-yu assistance after learning last month of her plans to visit her husband in Beijing, including instructing foundation staff to accompany her on her trip, asking China-based Taiwanese businesspeople and associations to help with arrangements and notifying China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.
“We deeply regret such a move,” the foundation said, urging Beijing to respond to Taipei’s and Lee Ming-che family members’ demands to prevent the incident from affecting already complicated and sensitive cross-strait relations.
China’s continued failure to do so would reinforce Taiwanese concerns that their rights might not be protected if they visit Beijing, the foundation said.
Despite Beijing’s obstruction, the foundation would continue to facilitate communications between China-based associations and Lee Ming-che’s family, it said.
The Mainland Affairs Council blasted Beijing’s revocation of Lee Ching-yu’s travel permit.
“Twenty-two days have passed since Lee Ming-che entered China on March 19 and lost touch with his family. However, Beijing has not only failed to make known the offenses he is accused of and where he is being detained, it has also sought to hinder his wife’s planned visit that should have been permitted on humanitarian grounds by rescinding a valid travel document issued by the Chinese government,” the council said in a statement.
Beijing’s behavior is counterproductive to assuaging public concerns and could have a negative impact on cross-strait ties, the council said, calling for Lee Ming-che’s immediate release.
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS