MAC CALLS FOR BEIJING TO RESPECT RIGHTS OF DETAINED ROC CITIZENS
2004-01-16 15:34:57
Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) A Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) official urged mainland Chinese authorities Friday to respect the judicial rights of the seven Republic of China citizens who have been in custody on the mainland since last month on espionage charges.
MAC Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tung said that it is deeply regrettable that all the seven men's names, IDs and addresses were made public before investigations into their alleged "spying" cases were completed.
Chen once again called for Beijing to squarely face the fact of Taiwan's existence, saying that Beijing's persistent avoidance of this issue has been the core reason behind the lack of official contact between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. This has also resulted in misunderstandings across the strait and a depriving of people of their rights, particularly Taiwan citizens maintaining business operations on the mainland, he added.
A Beijing-based daily reported earlier this week that Taiwan "residents" Fu Hung-chang, Lin Chieh-shan, Lee Hsiao-lien, Wang Chang-yung, Chang Keng-huan and Chang yu-jen were arrested last Dec. 15 in Guangdong, Fujian, Anhui and Hainan provinces, respectively, on suspicions of gathering intelligence for Taiwan's military authorities.
A seventh Taiwan "resident, " Tung Tai-ping, was arrested last Dec. 4 while allegedly collecting intelligence at the Huangpu Shipbuilding Co. in Guangzhou, the report said.
The quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) confirmed in a letter Tuesday to its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation, that the seven "Taiwan residents" were arrested between Dec. 4 and Dec. 15 in mainland China on suspicions of spying.
The ARATS claimed that all seven men were "cells" dispatched by Taiwan's Military Intelligence Bureau.
(By Deborah Kuo)
ENDITEM/Li
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