Taiwanese human rights activist urges govt to impose strict restrictions on religious exchanges initiated by Chinese organisations

Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che called on the government to implement stringent restrictions on religious exchanges initiated by Chinese organisations, Taiwan News reported.

Lee said that any so-called exchanges permitted by China have been made to align with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political agenda, Taiwan News reported, citing Liberty Times. He stated that religious organizations in China must build branches of communist party, effectively removing religious freedom.

Lee Ming-che’s remarks came in response to the detention of three elderly Taiwanese members of the I-Kuan Tao religious group in China since October. Calls for their release have been ignored and Taiwanese officials have warned that if China refuses to release them, travel risks for Taiwanese citizens to China will rise and cross-strait religious exchanges may be stopped.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesperson Chen Binhua said that Guangdong authorities arrested three persons under Chinese law. Chen assured that the relevant departments would carry out trials and safeguard the legal rights of the accused, Taiwan News reported.

Chen Binhua accused Taiwan’s DPP government of political manipulation and hindering cross-strait exchanges. Lee Ming-che was arrested and imprisoned in China in 2017 after Beijing called him a threat to national security. Taiwanese human rights activist was released in 2022.

On December 13, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has urged Chinese authorities to release three Taiwanese members of the I-Kuan Tao (Yiguandao) religious group arrested in China, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

The MAC issued a statement on Friday night, shortly after China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) confirmed the arrest of the three people. According to MAC’s statement, Taiwan’s government requested Chinese authorities to ensure the legal rights and safety of the nationals by sending them back to Taiwan.

According to MAC statement, the Chinese authorities, over the past year, has “illegally arrested,” imprisoned and punished Taiwanese members of religious groups who visited China on multiple occassions, according to CNA report.

The agency noted that China tries to “infiltrate Taiwan under the guise of religious interaction.” However, China is not happy to see Taiwanese members of religious groups promote their religion in China. It urged people of Taiwan to recognize that China does not have freedom of religion and for members of religious groups to reconsider travelling to Beijing.

In a statement issued by TAO on Friday, the three detained Taiwan nationals, identified by their last names Chou, Chiang, and Hsieh, were arrested by police in Guangdong on suspicion of “organizing and practicing as members of a cult that undermines law enforcement,” CNA reported.