Taiwan assists Chinese lawyer who fled country

Taiwan yesterday said it has provided “temporary accommodation” to a Chinese citizen, after a rights group reported that a lawyer representing detained leaders of an underground church in Beijing had fled to the nation.

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) did not identify the person, but ChinaAid said Vdoor Law Firm partner Ruth Wang (王夏紅) had arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday “seeking protection from Taiwanese authorities.”

Wang was a lawyer for detained leaders of Zion Church, one of China’s unregistered churches, ChinaAid said.

The Mainland Affairs Council’s title and logo are displayed at its headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph.

Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times

“Wang and her family left China because of concerns about increasing government pressure related to her legal work and representation of detained Beijing Zion Church leaders,” ChinaAid said on Thursday.

Responding to reports about a “Chinese lawyer seeking assistance in Taiwan,” the MAC said the government has provided a “Chinese national transferring through a Taiwanese airport” with “temporary accommodation on humanitarian grounds and is following up on the matter.”

Taiwan has no law for handling political asylum.

Members of the Zion Church, including the founder Ezra Jin (金明日), were detained in October last year on “suspicion of the illegal use of information networks.”

China released Jin in July after US President Donald Trump raised his case with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).

Eight of the Zion Church members detained in October are still being held, ChinaAid said.

The Chinese Communist Party has historically regarded organized religion with suspicion, and under Xi, has tightened scrutiny of unofficial groups.