Taiwanese publishers of books critical of China arrested in Shanghai

According to media reports, a Taiwanese publisher who published criticism of China was arrested during a visit to China in March. In an appeal, 40 authors, academics, media officials and human rights activists called for the release of Li Yanhe, better known as Fu Cha, Taiwanese newspapers reported Monday.

Born in the People’s Republic in 1971, Fu Cha moved to the Democratic Island Republic in 2009 after marrying a Taiwanese woman, where he applied for citizenship. As the “Liberty Times” newspaper reported, he already has a Taiwanese identity card, but had to cancel his residence registration (hukou) in China to complete the naturalization process.

For this reason he had flown to China. He was arrested shortly after arriving in Shanghai, the paper wrote. His family and publisher tried not to disclose the matter to somehow secure his release behind the scenes. The publisher asked for space again on Sunday.

Fu Cha founded Gusa Press in 2009 and has also published books that criticize the Communist Party or touch on taboo topics in China. The books covered, among other things, the bloody suppression of the democracy movement in 1989, the global influence of Chinese propaganda, and the persecution of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang, northwest China.

His case is reminiscent of five Hong Kong booksellers who also published politically sensitive books about China and mysteriously disappeared in 2015. All five appeared in China. Four were later released. But Gui Minhai, a Swedish national, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2020 for “illegally passing classified information abroad”. Dealing with the 62-year-old had led to serious diplomatic complications between China and Sweden. (aeg/sda/dpa)