Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), wife of Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who is detained in China, is planning to attend the 113th session of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in September, Taiwan Association for Human Rights Secretary-General Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) said on Tuesday.
The working group is a five-member organ established by the UN Human Rights Commission. Its next session is to be held in Geneva, Switzerland from Sept. 11 to Sept 15.
Lee was detained on March 19 after entering Zhuhai, China, from Macau. He used to work for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is a staff member at Wenshan Community College in Taipei, as well as a volunteer at the non-governmental organization Covenant Watch.
China last month said Lee Ming-che had been charged with subversion of state power.
Lee Ching-yu in May visited the US to attend a hearing held by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, where she sought help from the US in pressuring China to release her husband, Chiu said.
The commission in June officially listed Lee as a political prisoner held by China.
Several non-governmental organizations in Taiwan would be establishing a joint taskforce on Tuesday next week to provide long-term support in the case, Chiu said.
In addition, a source said that the government late last month held an official meeting with Lee Ching-yu to formulate an official national policy on how to bring Lee Ming-che back home.
The attending agencies included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Justice, the source said, adding that the meeting gave relatives the sense that the state is finally involving itself in the case.
Family members and government officials discussed whether Lee Ming-che should be identified as human rights campaigner, teacher, former DPP worker or a criminal and arrived at a consensus, although the details are being kept private, the source said.
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