Taiwan: Human Rights Activists Detained for Alleged ‘Subversion’
Photo courtesy of Matthias Müller @Flickr
Chinese authorities arrested a Taiwanese human rights activist, Lee Ming-cheh, for allegedly inciting “subversion of state power”. So far, “subverting state power” had been a charge brought only against human rights activists within China. This most recent incident is the first case of Beijing charging a Taiwanese citizen on trumped up allegations of being a “threat to national security”.
This article has been published by the Boston Globe:
Lee Ming-cheh, a human rights advocate from Taiwan who was detained in China in March, has been formally arrested on a charge of “subverting state power,” the Chinese government said, amid a continuing crackdown on civil society organizations.
His arrest, revealed Friday, marks the first time Chinese authorities have charged someone from Taiwan with subversion. Many people in Taiwan fear it will not be the last, and it has added a new strain to the tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
China’s ruling Communist Party has never administered Taiwan but claims it as Chinese territory, to be annexed by force if necessary.
The Nationalists who once dominated China fled to the island after losing to the Communists in a civil war in 1949.
