More than 100 days have passed since China confirmed the detention of Taiwan-based Li Yanhe. The professional membership of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club (TFCC) repeats our call on the Chinese government to ensure Mr Li’s freedom of expression and other rights, including the right to regularly communicate with his lawyers and family, are guaranteed.
Mr Li, Editor-in-Chief of Gusa Publishing House who uses the pen name Fuca, was detained during a visit to Shanghai last March. He was being investigated by Chinese state security officials, according to China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
The TFCC also noted an open letter issued in May, signed by more than 300 leaders in the publishing, academia and the arts industries. The letter raised concerns on how Mr Li’s detention would have a “chilling effect” on the publishing sector in Taiwan.
The case is widely seen as the latest setback for freedom of speech in this region, where authoritarian regimes in China, Myanmar, Hong Kong and other places have continued their severe crackdown against journalists, writers and dissidents. The TFCC calls on these regimes to release all unjustly-detained media workers.
August 18, 2023