A UN human rights panel has agreed to take on a Taiwan-sponsored case for the first time, human rights activists said yesterday.
The UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has agreed to investigate the abduction of Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲).
Lee’s disappearance in March shortly after entering Guangzhou (廣州) has gained national attention, with China refusing to allow visits or to cooperate with Taiwan in accordance with the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議).
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
While China has charged Lee with “subversion of state power,” his wife Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜) claims that he was traveling to China to “share Taiwan’s experience of democratization” at the invitation of Chinese friends.
Covenants Watch chief executive officer Huang Yi-bee (黃怡碧) said the WGEID agreed to take up the case after several domestic human rights groups applied to the Human Rights Council with permission from Lee Ching-yu.
The WGEID has already asked the Chinese government to provide information about the case and it is awaiting a reply, she said, adding that a formal in-country investigation would only be possible if China agrees.
“This case is special because it represents the first time a case submitted by Taiwan has been officially accepted. There are many cases submitted to the council via the urgent appeals process, but they chose this one, even though to our knowledge there are many cases from Hong Kong which have not received an official reply,” she said.
Activists hope the council would address the case in its official annual report and have the opportunity to participate in a working session in September, as long as Lee Ching-yu agrees to move forward, Huang said.
“Participating in the official working session would be a first for Taiwan,” she said.
Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty executive director Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) said that her alliance had asked the council to investigate the case of death row inmate Chiou Ho-shun (邱和順) in 2011, only to see the case fall by the wayside after the council accepted it, but then asked China <<->> not Taiwan <<->> to provide further information.
“We originally applied because there had been a special rapporteur who had stated he would ask the Taiwanese government for information, but by the time we applied, another rapporteur had already taken over and he chose to ask China <<->> a decision which of course led to no answer,” Lin said. “This case is different because Lee is in China’s hands, so they will have to answer.”
“Lee Ching-yu welcomes the WGEID taking on the case, but we will have a meeting on Friday to decide whether she will attend the September working session in person or send a representative,” said Lee Ching-yu’s spokesman, Wenshan Community College president Cheng Hsiu-chuan (鄭秀娟).
International human rights groups are also pushing for a European Parliament resolution on the case, Huang said.
“We will visit with the missions of many countries both in Taiwan and Geneva, but there is not a high level of interest in Lee’s case,” she said, “Many nations are more inclined for a response to be issued by the EU rather than individually, because individual countries are not willing to stand up and oppose China by themselves.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from