Taiwanese man held by China over links to Falun Gong
Want ChinaTimes
By CNA and Staff Reporter
June 23, 2012
A Taiwanese businessman has been detained by Chinese authorities during a recent visit to the mainland, allegedly because of his connection with the banned religious movement Falun Gong, his wife said Friday.
Chung Ting-pang, a manager of a Hsinchu-based technology firm, went to Jiangxi province in China’s southeast to visit his half-brother on June 15 and was scheduled to take a flight back to Taiwan on June 18.
After he failed to return home as scheduled, the family learned that he had been taken into custody by Chinese police to “assist with an investigation into the Falun Gong sect,” Chung’s wife said. She said that while Chung is a Falun Gong practitioner, he is not involved in the operations of the organization.
Ma Shaw-chang, vice secretary-general of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, said that as soon as the foundation received a complaint from Chung’s family on June 19 it requested its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, for assistance in the matter.
The foundation, which handles negotiations with China on behalf of Taiwan’s government, further asked the Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Investigation Bureau on Friday to help seek a resolution with Chinese authorities based on the cross-strait agreement on mutual legal assistance, Ma said.
Yu Mei-nu, a lawmaker for Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said the case highlights the lack of protection for Taiwanese businesspeople in China and suggested that the issue be addressed in an investment protection pact currently being negotiated between the two sides.