China releases Taiwanese accused of spying

Taiwan said on Thursday China had released a Taiwanese citizen who had been detained on charges of spying, and that he had already left the country.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and has stepped up political and military pressure over the past four years to try to enforce those sovereignty claims.

Lee Meng-chu went missing in southern China in 2019. The following year, Chinese state media reported he was a member of a Taiwan separatist group who posed as a businessman to conceal his espionage role.

Lee was arrested when he entered China and the state media reports said he was found to have photographs and videos of Chinese military drills in the southern city of Shenzhen, as well as materials showing he supported anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

Jan Jyh-horng, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s mainland affairs council, said Lee had been released by China and left the country. China hadn’t informed Taiwan of the decision and the news had come to Taiwan’s government via Lee’s family, Jan added.

China’s Taiwan affairs office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Lee told the BBC's Chinese language service that he had been sent to Japan upon his release. In the same interview he said he was a tourist and wrongly accused of being a spy.

“I didn’t know what I did, but to get out early, I had to plead guilty and admit guilt,” he added.

Taiwan’s government, which says only the island’s people can decide their future, has repeatedly warned its population to exercise caution in visiting China given the risk of arbitrary detention.

Reuters