Chinese authorities have said that they will let the public know once the investigation into Taiwanese NGO worker Lee Ming-cheh has been completed.

A manager at a community college in Taipei, Lee also supported civil society organisations in the mainland. He was last heard from on March 19 after he entered the Chinese city of Zhuhai from Macau. Chinese authorities later confirmed that they were holding him under suspicion of “endangering national security.”

An Fengshan
An Fengshan. Photo: Screenshot/CCTV.

When a Taiwanese journalist asked about Lee’s case at a regular press conference on Thursday, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson An Fengshan said: “[We] will make an announcement to the public after the relevant departments have completed their investigation in accordance with the law.”

Lee’s wife Lee Ching-yu has been outspoken in campaigning for his release. She testified at a US Congress hearing on China’s torture, disappearances, and detention of human rights lawyers and democracy advocates last week in Washington DC.

YouTube video

At the hearing, she appealed to the US for help, saying that international involvement in her husband’s case could pressure China into releasing him.

She vows to continue seeking help from the international community. “The US is only the first stop,” she said upon returning to Taiwan.

Catherine is a Canadian journalist and photographer who lived in Beijing for almost two years, working in TV and online media. Aside from Hong Kong and mainland affairs, she is also interested in urban spaces, art and feminism. She holds a BA in Literature and Art History from the University of British Columbia.