TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lee Ching-yu (李凈瑜), the wife of NGO worker Lee Ming-che (李明哲), was granted a one-time Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents (台灣人民來往大陸通行證) last week and departs for China today.
Lee will fly into Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. She will be allowed to visit her husband at the Chishan Prison on March 27 and will return to Taiwan on March 28.
A representative of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation will accompany Lee for the entirety of the trip.
Lee Ching-yu checks into her flight March 26. (CNA image)
At the Taoyuan Airport yesterday, Lee told reporters that the most important part of her visit is to let her husband know that his family is thinking of him and sending their blessings. Although she cannot bring any of his favorite foods into the prison, she hopes that through this visit she can bring him “news from the free world,” reported CNA.
Due to health and financial issues, Lee Ming-che’s parents are unable to visit him in prison. “They asked me to tell Lee that his father misses him so much and asks every day when he is coming home,” said his wife.
Lee Ming-che was detained in China last year for alleged involvement in subversive activities and sentenced to five years in prison.
Lee Ching-yu was allowed to attend his trial although she has been repeatedly refused appropriate travel documents to China and not allowed into the country since.
