A Taiwan-based publisher who had been detained by Chinese authorities since 2023 was last month convicted of “inciting secession” in China, Beijing said yesterday, prompting complaints from Taiwanese authorities that the trial had been held in secret.
A Shanghai court handed Li Yanhe (李延賀) a conviction on Feb. 17 in a “public sentencing,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement, without specifying the sentence.
“The court heard the case strictly in accordance with the law, fully guaranteed the various litigation rights of Li Yanhe and his advocate according to law,” the statement said.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
The sentencing came as Beijing commemorates the 20th anniversary of its “Anti-Secession” Law, which gives it the legal authority to punish people pursuing “Taiwanese independence” activities.
The Mainland Affairs Council, which said it was apprised of the case, but did not disclose details because of the family’s wishes, rejected Beijing’s claim that Li’s sentencing was public.
The trial was kept a “complete secret,” the council said in a statement, adding that Beijing’s claim of guaranteeing Li’s rights were “complete lies.”
Neither Taiwan nor China has said where Li has citizenship.
Li, also known by the pen name Fucha (富察), worked as editor-in-chief of Taiwan-based Gusa Press (八旗文化).
“All colleagues at Gusa Publishing feel angry and uneasy,” the publisher said in a statement on social media yesterday.
“We can’t see the indictment, don’t know what exactly Fucha was convicted for doing, don’t know the sentence, and are even more uncertain about whether he can return home after serving his sentence,” the statement said.
Beijing in April 2023 confirmed that Li had been detained “on suspicion of engaging in activities endangering national security” after his disappearance on a trip to Shanghai sparked media speculation.
“Li Yanhe made outstanding contributions to Taiwan’s cultural publishing industry,” the council said. “The fundamental purpose of the [Chinese] Communist Party’s detention of Li Yanhe is to clamp down on Taiwan’s publishing, academic and cultural circles, and to create a chilling effect.”
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