Morrison Lee (李孟居), who was imprisoned in China for 22 months on spying charges, arrived in Taiwan yesterday.
Lee knelt to kiss the ground twice upon his arrival at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), saying that he was overcome with joy to return after 1,475 days.
“This is the land of freedom,” he said. “I will never go to China again.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“I will use my experience to tell Taiwanese: If you go to China, Hong Kong or Macau, you really must be very careful,” he told reporters.
Lee was an unpaid adviser to Pingtung County’s Fangliao Township (枋寮) when he was arrested in 2019 while traveling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen for business.
He was convicted on espionage charges and handed a 22-month sentence. After completing the sentence in 2021, the Chinese government prohibited him from leaving China for two more years.
Photo courtesy of the Straits Exchange Foundation
He was allowed to leave in July, but was not allowed on a flight to Taiwan, so he flew to Japan, where he stayed until yesterday.
On Friday, Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman David Lee (李大維) said that China’s Counter-Espionage Law is not conducive to stable cross-strait exchanges.
Exchange programs and reciprocal visits have restarted with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has announced measures to open up to Chinese tourists.
“Tourism and people-to-people interactions are the best ways to bolster mutual understanding between the two sides, but China on July 1 promulgated a revised Counter-Espionage Law, which has new provisions that substantially expand the scope of activities that Chinese authorities consider espionage,” David Lee said.
Media have reported cases of Taiwanese being confined in China or facing “unfriendly treatment,” he said. “The Chinese government should know that such incidents are not conducive to cross-strait peace and stability.”
“Taiwanese should exercise caution in their speech and action while in China to avoid breaching its laws,” he added.
China is facing an economic crisis, with Chinese property developers defaulting on debts among the financial woes, while the youth unemployment rate has been climbing for six months, reaching 21.3 percent in June, David Lee said.
Beijing in July stopped releasing youth unemployment data, so the actual situation might be even worse, he said.
Separately, a national security official warned Taiwanese about traveling to Chongqing, which on Friday promulgated a Counter-Espionage Regulation.
It is the first local law that connects to the central government’s Counter-Espionage Law, giving the megacity the legislative instrument to fight spying by Chinese and foreigners, said the official, who declined to be named.
The regulations allow Chinese authorities to “make arbitrary arrests,” creating a “minefield” for Taiwanese, the official said.
The MAC last week issued a warning to Taiwanese, listing things they should refrain from saying in China, as they can be interpreted as “attempting to obtain state secrets” or “spying activities,” the official said.
The decision to stop releasing data on youth unemployment, as well as real-estate, foreign direct investment, stock market trading, COVID-19 deaths, unfavorable information about Chinese academia, and personal information about Chinese politicians are topics to avoid, the official said.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) shopping area welcomed the most international visitors, followed by Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), a list of the city’s most popular tourist attractions published by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism showed. As of August, 69.22 million people had visited Taipei’s main tourism spots, a 76 percent increase from 39.33 million in the same period last year, department data showed. Ximending had 20.21 million visitors, followed by Taipei 101 at 8.09 million, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park at 6.28 million, Yangmingshan at 4.51 million and the Red House Theater (西門紅樓) in
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS