War

Drums

What Lee Ming-che’s Show Trial Tells Us

More than anything, Beijing is using the Lee case to send a warning to Taiwan and the rest of the world that proposing political alternatives for China, or even criticizing the CCP, can be costly. Whoever or wherever you are.

The “trial” of Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-che, who went missing in China on March 19, opened yesterday at the Yueyang City Intermediate People’s Court, with Lee admitting to various purported crimes against China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Lee, 42, pleaded guilty to “subverting the state” by “spreading articles that maliciously attacked the Communist Party of China, China’s existing system and China’s government” by calling for a multiparty political system. After admitting his “wrongs,” the rights activist said he had been mislead by vicious Taiwanese (and Western) media about China and that his eyes had been opened. Now seeing the real virtues of China, Lee said that after he is released from prison (at this writing no sentence has been given) and allowed to return to Taiwan he would work towards promoting unification. 

From the beginning, it was evident that whatever “confession” Lee made at trial would be coerced. 

As his long-winded “responses” to the prosecutor’s succinct questions made clear, this was political circus, a scripted affair that ticked off all the boxes in the CCP propaganda playbook.

DYI:  With the western world distracted by on going terrorism as illustrated by the attacks in London, England subway (the tube) system along with North Korea firing off additional missiles China ramps up their campaign for reunification of Taiwan and continuing land grab in the South China Sea.  War is coming to the South China Sea region as China expands their reach for natural resources to continue their modernization of the Chinese economy.  Eventually this will be settled by war.  The first possible flash point is either Taiwan – forced reunification – or Vietnam as China claims the Paracel Islands with known oil reserves legally owned by Vietnam.       

DYI