Li Ching-yu Denied Visitation - Statement by the Lee Ming-che Rescue Team

Li Ching-yu, wife of Lee Ming-che, received a notification yesterday (29th) from China's Chishan Prison stating that Lee Ming-che was transferred to the Seventh Ward of Chishan Prison in Hunan Province on December 28, 2017. The notification also stated that family members have the right to visit once a month. Therefore, Ms. Li purchased Xiamen Airlines tickets today intending to travel to China to visit Ming-che, but was denied boarding once again for lacking valid travel documents to enter China.

After Ming-che was subjected to "enforced disappearance" by China on March 19 last year, Ms. Li Ching-yu held valid documents to enter China and hoped to visit her husband on April 10. That day at the airport airline counter, she was informed that her documents had been "revoked," yet no formal written documents or specific reasons were provided to the person concerned regarding the "reason for revocation" and "date of revocation."

On September 11, when Lee Ming-che was tried at the Hunan Intermediate People's Court, Ms. Li Ching-yu was only able to obtain a one-time "visa on arrival" to enter and observe the trial. On November 28, when Lee Ming-che was sentenced to "five years in prison" by the Hunan Intermediate People's Court, Ms. Li Ching-yu could only travel using a one-time "visa on arrival." The Chinese government's arbitrary cancellation of an individual's travel documents is truly not the practice of a normal democratic country.

The Chinese government signed the "Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement" with our country, and our government has strictly complied with the contents of the "Agreement," ensuring that whenever anyone is arrested, the Chinese side and their family members are notified. However, the Chinese government has never replied to official letters and official documents sent by our government, showing complete disrespect for our country's sovereignty and the rights and interests of our people.

The "Lee Ming-che Rescue Team" hereby emphasizes once again that Lee Ming-che's online publication of remarks related to democracy and human rights is not a "criminal" act in most countries internationally, with the exception of China. China's sentencing and imprisonment of Lee Ming-che is a malicious provocation that tramples on freedom of speech and violates the basic human rights of Taiwanese human rights workers, and further extends its human rights-violating "jurisdiction" to foreigners outside Chinese territory. With the Lunar New Year approaching, the Chinese government's refusal once again today to allow family members to visit China completely lacks any empathy from a humanitarian perspective. As a "magnificent major power," the Chinese authorities are so "glass-hearted," which is truly baffling.

Christmas cards, New Year cards, and birthday cards sent by the "Lee Ming-che Rescue Team" were also entirely "rejected" and returned by Chinese official units. These actions repeatedly demonstrate that China tramples on the principles of democracy and the rule of law, and even repeatedly violates human rights standards guaranteed by international conventions—as well as its own national laws—throughout the process from arrest to imprisonment. The Chinese government issues a "notification" from the prison with its left hand, while refusing boarding through "Xiamen Airlines" with its right hand; such administrative inconsistency further demonstrates that the Chinese government system is self-contradictory and devoid of rational rules.

The Rescue Team once again condemns the Chinese government for its lack of humanity and humanitarianism. Not only does it violate the constitution and laws it formulated itself, but even its administrative organs can hardly produce consistent actions, showing the chaotic state of its national governance. Aside from continuously cooperating with various university student associations and social organizations in the Yellow Ribbon Campaign to support Lee Ming-che, the Rescue Team will also travel to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances in early February to report on the Lee Ming-che case and explain the latest developments of this case to institutions such as the European Parliament. We once again call upon the government and relevant departments to take action to safeguard the rights of our nationals.

Lee Ming-che Rescue Team Members

Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Covenant Watch
Wunshan Community College
Taiwan Forever Association
Judicial Reform Foundation
Tibetan Human Rights Network Taiwan