On Monday, a group of more than 20 diplomats from the US, the UK and other European nations gathered outside a court in Beijing where Canadian Michael Kovrig was on trial — in the latest show of growing unity among countries in addressing China-related issues.
Acting Deputy Chief of the US Mission in Beijing William Klein said that Washington stands with Canada in trying to resolve issues with the case against Kovrig, who was charged with spying on Chinese state secrets in a case that Canadian officials say lacks transparency.
On the same day, the US, the UK, the EU and Canada imposed sanctions on several Chinese officials for human rights abuses in Xinjiang. It is unclear why the sanctions are only just being implemented now, as Beijing’s persecution of the Uighur minority has been covered by the media for more than five years. Perhaps Beijing’s ongoing violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy have added weight to the issue.
Recent unified action on this and other China-
related problems shows a global change in strategies for containing China. US and Japanese officials on Tuesday last week met in Tokyo, where they discussed cooperation on patrolling the East and South China seas to contain Chinese forces. Prior to that, officials from the US, Japan, Australia and India held their first Quadrilateral Security Dialogue since US President Joe Biden took office.
It goes without saying that Taiwan is central to a great number of issues involving China. From the key economic role Taiwan plays in its supply of semiconductors to its importance in regional geopolitical strategy, Taiwan’s involvement is crucial and it should be included in discussions.
One way that Taiwan could make its voice heard is by seeking international cooperation on the issue of Lee Ming-che’s (李明哲) unlawful detention in China. Lee was arrested in 2017 on charges of “subversion of state power” — a charge that China frequently levels against democracy advocates — and has frequently been denied contact with his wife and others.
Human rights groups and lawmakers who gathered in support of Lee at a press conference in Taipei on Saturday last week said that his wife has not been able to speak with him by phone or by letter since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The groups called on the government to bring up the issue of Lee at the APEC leaders’ summit in New Zealand in November. That summit might or might not be the right venue to address the issue, but what is clear from support at Kovrig’s trial, as well as the latest sanctions on Chinese officials, is that such human rights issues are getting more international attention.
China is unlikely to budge easily on the issue of Lee’s detention — for example, by providing phone access or granting parole, as his wife has requested — but Lee’s case adds weight to unified actions against China for such breaches. Beijing denied Canadian officials entry to Kovrig’s trial even though they are entitled to under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which China and Canada are signatories.
Canada, along with its allies who showed support on Monday, could raise the issue at the next UN meeting, and could add Taiwan’s voice to that argument. China might not be bound by the Vienna convention in the case of Lee — since it does not recognize the Republic of China’s sovereignty — but Beijing has signed agreements with Taipei on prisoner access, which have similarly been breached in this case.
China has been flouting the international rules-based order for years, and governments are getting fed up. Taiwan must not stand by quietly while its citizens’ rights are being violated in China. The government must seek cooperation with other governments on resolving the detention of Lee and other Taiwanese in China.
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