Taiwan urges China to free Nobel Peace Prize winner
On 27 June, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) urged China to free 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiao-bo, following reports Liu is on medical parole for treatment of late-stage liver cancer. Liu was jailed on charges of masterminding the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and was imprisoned again in 2009 for his role in drafting the "2008 Constitution." The MAC also urged Beijing to release Lee Ming-che, a human rights activist from Taiwan, who has been detained in China since March, on charges of pursuing activities harmful to China's national security, but those charges have since been upgraded to "subverting state power." China has so far refused Lee's wife's requests to visit him.
On 18 May, Lee’s wife, Lee Ching-yu, attended a hearing of the subcommittee on global human rights of the US House of Representatives, to plead for Washington to help secure the release of her husband. She praised the US for having long been the protector of justice, freedom and democracy everywhere, including Taiwan. Mid-June, the Congressional Executive Commission on China (CECC) added Lee to its database of political prisoners. The CECC notified Lee's wife and said it will officially launch efforts to secure his release. It also stated that Lee's name would be added to a list of priority political prisoners that the US congress may submit to President Trump prior to his next official visit to China.