China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) yesterday confirmed that 44-year-old Hsinchu native Morrison Lee (李孟居), who had not been heard from since crossing from Hong Kong to China’s Shenzhen late last month, is under investigation on suspicion of engaging in criminal activity harmful to national security, as the Presidential Office and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) demanded that Beijing give a full account of his detention.
TAO spokesman Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) told a briefing in Beijing that Lee was being investigated “in accordance with the law,” without giving further details.
Lee went missing on Aug. 20 after he sent photographs of Chinese paramilitary police amassing on the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong to Fangliao Township (枋寮) Mayor Archer Chen (陳亞麟), who has said that he tried to call Lee later in the day, but could not get through.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance
Lee is an unpaid adviser to the township in Pingtung County and also serves on the board of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance. He had traveled to Hong Kong on Aug. 18 and headed to Shenzhen two days later on a business trip.
Chen last month said that Lee had attended an anti-extradition bill protest while in Hong Kong.
His family said that they had not heard from him since he arrived in Shenzhen.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Presidential Office spokesman Chang Chun-han (張惇涵) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday that the government is deeply concerned about Lee’s detention and has asked the MAC and other government agencies to negotiate with Beijing over the issue.
MAC spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) called on Beijing to say, 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), where Lee is being held, and why and when he was detained.
The pact requires Beijing to inform Taipei if a Taiwanese is detained in China.
China should arrange for his family and a lawyer to visit as soon as possible to “ensure the legal rights he is entitled to,” Chiu said.
The council would stay in contact with his family and provide whatever assistance it could, he said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called on China to provide more details of the charges against Lee.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) compared Morrison Lee’s case with that of Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who was detained by Chinese authorities in March 2017 and imprisoned that November after being convicted of “subversion of state power.”
He is concerned that China fabricated the charges against Morrison Lee, and said that China’s violation of free speech rights was pushing it farther away from Taiwan, Lee Chun-yi said.
China should release Morrison Lee, the lawmaker said.
KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) called on Chinese authorities to be transparent in their handling of Morrison Lee’s case and allow him to hire a lawyer and allow his family visitation rights.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS