Taiwanese activist arrested for alleged subversion in mainland China
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council says Beijing has not given any concrete evidence to support the allegations against Li Ming-che
Taiwan’s ruling party on Saturday accused Beijing of conducting a “black box” hearing against Taiwanese human rights activist Li Ming-che on subversion charges, and has called for his case to be heard in public.
“The Chinese authorities should disclose all the evidentiary information and openly hear the case with the attitude of a civilised state, rather than dealing with the case as a black-box operation,” the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said in a statement.
On Friday night, mainland authorities announced the official arrest of Li on charges of subversion, in a case observers say will entrench a cross-strait stand-off.
On the mainland, criminal suspects are detained while a preliminary investigation is held. Only when sufficient evidence is gathered for a court case is the suspect formally arrested.
Li, who has been held by authorities since he entered the mainland from Macau on March 19, could become the first Taiwanese to be charged with the crime, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
“With the approval of prosecution authorities, Taiwan resident Li Ming-che was recently arrested by security agencies in Hunan province on suspicion of subverting state power,” said An Fengshan, spokesman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office.