Taiwan silent on publisher's sentencing details, rejects China criticism

Taipei, March 26 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) declined to reveal sentencing details on Wednesday after a Taiwan-based publisher was sentenced to three years in prison for inciting secession in China, while also rejecting Beijing's criticism that Taipei is using the case to defame its judicial system.

The Chinese authority disclosed earlier in the day the sentencing of Li Yanhe (李延賀), the founder of Taiwan-based Gūsa Publishing, two years after Li, better known by his pen name Fu Cha (富察), was arrested in Shanghai.

Li was sentenced to three years in prison after the Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court found him guilty of "inciting to split the country," Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesperson Chen Binhua (陳斌華) told a press conference in Beijing.

Additionally, Li was deprived of political rights for one year, and CNY$50,000 (US$6,889) of his personal property was confiscated, Chen said, adding that Li did not file an appeal, and the ruling was thus final.

The spokesperson said Li's family had been notified of his sentencing, but he made no mention of the defendant's state of health or his whereabouts.

It remains unclear what Li did that led to him being charged and convicted.

A Chinese national with residency in Taiwan, Li was arrested in March 2023 shortly after arriving in China to visit his family and deal with residency-related issues. He was then placed under investigation by Chinese state security officials.

In Taipei, the MAC said that it was aware of the situation, but out of respect for the wishes of Li's family, it would not disclose further details.

The MAC said in a statement that this case clearly demonstrated the nature of the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian rule and once again reaffirmed the need for citizens traveling to China to be aware of the risks.

Meanwhile, Chen Binhua criticized Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities for "repeatedly hyping up this case in an attempt to slander and discredit China's judicial system," accusing it of being driven by ulterior motives.

In response, the MAC condemned the "complete secrecy" surrounding the case, pointing out that it was only on March 17 that the TAO revealed Li's conviction and only on Wednesday that his sentencing was disclosed-contradicting the office's claim that the trial was public.

A trial that lacks due process is inherently unconvincing, the MAC said, adding that its criticism against China's judicial system was not unfounded.

Furthermore, the MAC said Beijing has long used the case as a propaganda model to showcase political achievements, attempting to create a chilling effect.

Born in 1971 in the Chinese province of Liaoning, Li is married to a Taiwanese woman and has held residency in Taiwan since 2013.

In 2009, Li founded Gūsa, a publishing house affiliated with the Book Republic Publishing Group, in Taipei. Over the years, the publisher has printed books that often criticized the Chinese Communist Party and touched upon issues considered taboo by the party.

The case also raises questions about the risks Chinese spouses of Taiwanese nationals face when seeking permanent residency in Taiwan.

Li was arrested when he returned to China apparently to rescind his household registration there, a step he needed to take before he could obtain Taiwanese citizenship.