Civic groups yesterday condemned Chinese authorities for banning Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜) from visiting her husband, jailed Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), and called for his release.
“Chinese authorities’ decision to ban family visitation during the Lunar New Year period, a time of family reunion, is inhumane and shameful,” Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Chiu Ee-ling (邱伊翎) told a news conference in Taipei.
Lee Ching-yu was honest about her husband’s situation in Hunan Province’s Chishan Prison, Chiu said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
“No prisoners or their family would deliberately tell lies to risk more punishment,” she added.
Lee Ching-yu on Dec. 24 last year told a news conference that the prison had mistreated her husband by throwing away his warm clothing, serving him spoiled food and making him work more than 10 hours per day.
They also froze his bank account, refused to activate his telephone card and prevented him from receiving letters and books from family, she said.
On Monday, Lee Ching-yu received a letter from prison officials informing her that she has been banned from visiting her husband for three months, from Wednesday last week to April 22, because her public comments “deviated” from the facts and would “hinder” his rehabilitation.
“All of my visits to the prison were monitored by the Chinese government. What I said about the prison after returning to Taiwan was based entirely on what I saw and heard there,” Lee Ching-yu said.
Lee Ming-che had asked her to “tell everyone” about his situation after her return to Taiwan, telling her that “there is a lot more I have not told you,” she said.
She added that if her words diverted from the facts, the prison can release videos of their meeting.
“My husband is in your prison. What leverage do I have to spread lies? If I lied, you can immediately expose me,” Lee Ching-yu said.
“Why would human rights hinder a prisoner’s rehabilitation? Not to mention that Lee Ming-che is innocent,” she added.
She said that if Chinese authorities would not allow her to visit Lee Ming-che, they should at least allow civic groups and the Mainland Affairs Council to visit him.
“What China is doing is extending its crackdown on freedom of speech to Lee Ming-che’s family,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) said.
Banning family visitation is not only against universal humanitarian values, but against the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and China’s own law on imprisonment, she said.
The prison could continue to mistreat Lee Ming-che if his family is not allowed to visit, Amnesty International Taiwan director Annie Huang (黃尚卿) said.
“Chinese authorities should respect freedom of speech and release Lee Ming-che,” she said, adding that his family has the right to visit him.
To show support for Lee Ming-che, civic groups said that they have been urging the public to send postcards to him in prison and tag him On social media on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
They have sent more than 70 letters to him, they said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS