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William Zheng

Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe has been convicted on secession charges in Shanghai after nearly two years of detention, according to Taiwanese media.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Monday confirmed that Li was indicted on secession charges and “faced a public trial in accordance with the law”, with the court delivering a first-instance verdict on February 17.
Li was sentenced by the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court, according to the report. The TAO did not provide further details of the verdict or sentencing in its statement to the Taiwanese press.
The TAO has not replied to a request from the South China Morning Post for details.
Li, born in Liaoning province on the mainland, served as the editor-in-chief of Taiwan’s Gusa Publishing, and was well known by his pen name Fu Cha within the Taiwanese publishing industry.
Books published by Gusa include many works critical of Beijing’s policies, including its crackdown on the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests of 1989.
Li was detained by Shanghai police in March 2023 on suspicion of carrying out activities that jeopardised national security. He had reportedly returned to the mainland to cancel his household registration – a requirement for obtaining permanent residency in Taiwan.
The Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi-official organisation in Taiwan that handles cross-strait civil and business matters, said on Sunday that it had been assisting Li’s family and would continue to monitor the situation while providing support.
The Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan’s official agency for handling relations with the mainland, previously said that Li’s case was being used by Beijing authorities as a “symbolic example” for mainland propaganda.


The news of Li’s verdict came just three days after a national symposium in Beijing marking the 20th anniversary of the mainland’s Anti-Secession Law.
At the meeting, Zhao Leji, mainland China’s No 3 official and chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said Beijing should “resolutely crack down on Taiwanese secession and intervention by foreign forces”, as well as double down on efforts to “penalise independence forces”.
On February 26, mainland China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate listed the cases of Li and Taiwanese political activist Yang Chih-yuan as “major cases endangering national security”.
Li was accused of “inciting secession of the country”, while Yang was labelled a separatist.
Mainland China’s deputy chief prosecutor Miao Shengming said last month that prosecutors would severely punish all crimes that threatened national security, including those of Li and Yang.
Yang was sentenced to nine years in prison in mainland China on charges of “separatism” last August, becoming the first person from Taiwan to be found guilty of separatism by a mainland court.
At the time of his detention, Yang was accused of being a long-time advocate of “Taiwan independence” – a red line for Beijing. He was also accused of founding a “Taiwanese National Party”, which is illegal according to mainland Chinese law.
Relations across the Taiwan Strait have continued to deteriorate since William Lai Ching-te took over as Taiwanese leader last May.
Lai, of Taiwan’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has been called a “troublemaker” by Beijing.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons for defence.


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Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe, also known by his pen name Fu Cha, has been convicted after nearly two years of detention in mainland China. Photo: Handout

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Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army carries out a combat drill in the Taiwan Strait. Photo: Xinhua

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Zhao Leji, mainland China’s No 3 official, said on Friday that the country should “resolutely crack down on Taiwanese secession and intervention of foreign forces”. Photo: Reuters

Zhao Leji (top, centre), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, addresses a symposium in Beijing on Friday marking the 20th anniversary of the Anti-Secession Law. Photo: Xinhua 

News

China

Politics

Gusa Publishing, where Li was editor-in-chief, is known for printing books critical of Beijing’s policies, including its Tiananmen crackdown


Gusa Publishing, where Li was editor-in-chief, is known for printing books critical of Beijing’s policies, including its Tiananmen crackdown.
