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MAC condemns China's arrest of Taiwanese activist

ROC Central News Agency

04/25/2023 06:49 PM

Taipei, April 25 (CNA) China's "willful" arrest of Taiwanese activist Yang Chih-yuan (楊智淵) severely hurts the rights of Taiwanese people and creates fear that will dampen cross-strait relations, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Tuesday.

The MAC made the statement after Chinese media reported earlier the same day that the country's Supreme People's Procuratorate has granted a request to arrest Yang, who had been detained since Aug. 3, 2022 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province on charges of secession.

The MAC, Taiwan's top government agency in charge of cross-strait affairs, said it has stayed on top of the incident since last August and has worked closely with Yang's family to offer necessary help.

The MAC also criticized Beijing for failing to respond to its calls through different channels to "release an innocent Yang and allow him to return to Taiwan as soon as possible."

The MAC also cautioned Taiwanese in the statement to properly evaluate the risk before traveling to China, as the country "habitually and willfully infringes the right to personal safety."

According to the Beijing Daily earlier in the day, the state security bureau in Wenzhou concluded its investigation into the charges against Yang, and the request to arrest him was approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

China's CCTV reported in August 2022 that Yang was taken into custody by the state security bureau in Wenzhou on Aug. 3, 2022 on charges related to his activities in support of Taiwan independence, endangering national security.

Yang has since been confined to a guarded facility.

Born in Taichung in 1990, Yang has served as vice chairman of the Taiwan National Party, a fringe political party advocating for Taiwan independence, since 2019.

CCTV said at the time of his detention that Yang had long advocated for Taiwan independence and established the "illegal" "Taiwan National Party" to advocate for Taiwan becoming a sovereign and independent country and gaining membership of the United Nations.

Because of those actions, CCTV said, Yang was suspected of committing and inciting the crime of secession, but the government-run media outlet did not offer any other details of his activities, including in the People's Republic of China.

The news of Yang being detained in China came hours after then United States House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi ended her 19-hour trip to Taiwan, a visit that prompted a strong reaction from Beijing, including days of military exercises around Taiwan.

(By Lee Ya-wen, Shih Hsiu-chuan and Lee Hsin-Yin)

Enditem/AW