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.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
STRIKING A BALANCE: A nutritionist said that only 9 percent of respondents were concerned whether they had a sufficient balance of vegetables and fruits Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they are affected physically and mentally due to lack of a regular breakfast routine, while only 9 percent ate a balanced diet, a Formosa Cancer Foundation survey showed. Thirty percent of respondents do not eat breakfast at home, saying it is more expedient to buy it, said Hsu Kuei-ting (徐桂婷), the foundation’s nutritionist, citing its most recent poll on nutritional intake for people aged 20 to 60. The poll showed that 60 percent believe they do not eat breakfasts that have balanced nutrition. At 62 percent, convenience was the most commonly cited factor in deciding whether