Detained human rights advocate Lee Ming-che’s (李明哲) wife is to forgo the right to legal counsel and fly to Beijing in search of her husband, Lee Ching-yu (李淨瑜) said yesterday.
“Our government will put in the effort they will put in, but as a family member I cannot do nothing,” Lee Ching-yu told a news conference in Taipei. “I have to take action because every second and minute is torment for my husband.”
She said her decision had been made earlier the same day, adding that she had yet to inform the Straits Exchange Foundation.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
A former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) staffer who works at Wenshan Community College in Taipei, Lee Ming-che went missing last week after entering Guangzhou on what his wife has said was a visit to share Taiwan’s experience of democratization with Chinese.
Beijing confirmed on Wednesday that he has been detained because of his “involvement in activities that threaten China’s national security.”
While family members and lawyers have a right to visit the detained under 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), China suspended its implementation of the agreement when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office last year.
The Chinese government has yet to announce what charges are to be brought against Lee Ming-che, Lee Ching-yu said, adding that she has decided against hiring a lawyer.
“Any legal defense is useless because China’s laws are not based on universal values,” she said, adding that she would focus on humanitarian concerns and human rights.
“I will not acknowledge any admission of guilt or other statement from my husband until I see him face to face, because it could be something forced from him by threats,” she said.
Beijing was chosen as her destination because Chinese authorities have yet to announce where Lee Ming-che is being held, she said, adding she would travel there “within the next few days.”
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
RSS