Taiwan Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, on Thursday said to win the release of foreign detainees in China, more international cooperation is required.
Wu said the Taiwanese government would further work on the issue with other countries to rescue foreigners detained in China.
“As you can tell, there are Canadians detained in China, also there are other nationals detained in China.
“If there can be more international cooperation in this regard, I think, we’re going to increase our leverage to win the release of these detainees,’’ Wu told Taipei-based foreign correspondents.
Wu’s comments came two days after U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, while on a visit to Taipei, called on Beijing to release a jailed Taiwanese human rights activist.
Brownback met the wife of Taiwanese activist Lee Ming-che on Tuesday just days before the second anniversary of his arrest by China.
Lee, who went missing on March 19, 2017, after entering China from Macau, is now serving a five-year prison sentence in central Hunan province.
In November 2017, he was convicted by a Chinese court on charges of subverting state power.
Lee’s wife said her husband had been sharing thoughts about rights and democracy with Chinese people through the internet while still living and working in Taiwan.
Brownback said the U.S. government views Lee’s case as a highly concerning one.
Wu said it was very important for Brownback to carry this message to the international community. (dpa/NAN)
