Continued incommunicado detention of Mr. Li Ming-Che

​@font-face { font-family: "Arial";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Tahoma";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }h4 { margin: 12pt 0cm 6pt 43.2pt; text-indent: -43.2pt; page-break-after: avoid; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-weight: normal; }p.MsoFootnoteText, li.MsoFootnoteText, div.MsoFootnoteText { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoHeader, li.MsoHeader, div.MsoHeader { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoFooter, li.MsoFooter, div.MsoFooter { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText { margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }span.Titre4Car { }span.Caractresdenotedebasdepage { vertical-align: super; }span.WW-Accentuationforte { }span.WW-FootnoteReference1 { vertical-align: super; }span.CorpsdetexteCar { font-family: Tahoma; }span.En-tteCar { }span.PieddepageCar { }span.NotedebasdepageCar { }p.Corpsdetexte21, li.Corpsdetexte21, div.Corpsdetexte21 { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; font-size: 11pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { }ol { margin-bottom: 0cm; }ul { margin-bottom: 0cm; }

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

CHN002 / 0417 / OBS 034.1

Incommunicado detention /

Judicial harassment

China

April 19, 2017

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, apartnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), hasreceived new information and requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in China.

Newinformation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about thecontinued incommunicado detention of Mr. LiMing-Che, Programme Manager at Wen-Shan Community College in Taiwan and avolunteer with the Taiwan-based NGO Covenants Watch[1].

According to the information received, one month after his arrest onMarch 19, 2017, the whereabouts of Mr. Li Ming-Che remain unknown. Neither hisfamily nor a lawyer have been granted access to him. Additionally, on April 10,2017, Mr. Li Ming-Che’s wife, Ms. Lee Ching-yu, attempted to fly to Beijing toseek information about her husband's detention but she was prevented fromboarding her flight to the Chinese capital after Chinese authorities revokedher travel pass.

The Observatory remains concerned aboutMr. Li Ming-Che’s health, as he suffers from hypertension.

The Observatorycondemns the ongoing arbitrary and incommunicado detention of Mr. Li Ming-Che,which seems to be merely aimed at sanctioning his legitimate and peaceful humanrights activities.

The Observatory urges Chinese authorities toimmediately and unconditionally release Mr. Li Ming-Che and to ensure hispsychological and physical integrity.

Background information:

On March 19, 2017, Mr. Li-MingChe was detained after entering mainland China for personal matters from Macauthrough the Gongbei Port immigration checkpoint located in Zhuhai, GuangdongProvince. Chinese authorities refused to disclose his fate or whereabouts untilMarch 27, 2017, when they revealed that Mr. Li Ming-Che was being detained atan undisclosed location and investigated by State security police on suspicionof “endangering national security”.

In recent years, Mr. Li Ming-Che hasbeen sharing the experience of Taiwan’s democratic process with his Chinesefriends online and has been sending them books on human rights and modernhistory. In early 2016, he was active online to encourage donations to supportthe families of Chinese human rights activists who had been detained by Chineseauthorities.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Chinese authorities to urgethem to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physicaland psychological integrity of Mr. Li Ming-Che as well as that of all humanrights defenders in China;

ii. Immediately disclose Mr.Li Ming-Che’s whereabouts and release him immediately and unconditionallyas his detention is arbitrary since it only seems to aim at sanctioninghis human rights activities;

iii. Guarantee the accessof Mr. Li Ming-Che to a lawyer and his family members;

iv. Put an end to all acts ofharassment - including at the judicial level - against Mr. LiMing-Che and all human rights defenders in the country so that they areable to carry out their work without hindrance;

v. Comply with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on HumanRights Defenders, in particular with its Articles 1, 6(c) and 12.2;

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and otherinternational human rights instruments signed or ratified by China.

Addresses:

·Mr. Li Keqiang, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Fax: +8610 659 611 09 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Email: premier@mail.gov.cn
· Mr. Guo Shengkun, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republicof China, Fax: +86 10 63099216, Email: gabzfwz@mps.gov.cn
· H.E. Mr. Zhaoxu Ma, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the People’sRepublic of China to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 79370 14, E-mail: chinamission_gva@mfa.gov.cn
· H.E. Mr. QU XING, Ambassador, Embassy of the People’s Republic of Chinain Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32-2-7792895; Email: chinaemb_be@mfa.gov.cn

Please also write tothe diplomatic representations of China in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva, April 19, 2017

Kindly inform us of any action undertakenquoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). Theobjective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

Tocontact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax OMCT +41 22809 49 39 / +41 22 809 49 29

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33(0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

[1] Established in 2009,Taiwan-based Covenants Watch monitors the Taiwanese government in itsfulfilment of the obligations attached with human rights conventions, conductspolicy training and advocacy activities and serves as a platform ofcollaboration for other human rights groups operating in Taiwan.