A Taiwanese man arrested in China for charges related to his adherence to a banned spiritual movement could face “torture and other ill-treatment,” rights groups say.
Chung Ting-pang was arrested at Ganzhou airport on June 18 as he was leaving China to return to his native Taiwan. His family have heard from him only once since he was detained almost a month ago.
Amnesty International released an appeal last week calling on the Chinese regime to “clarify the charges against Chung Ting-pang, and to release him unless he is charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence.”
Chung had for three days prior to his arrest been visiting family members in Yongkang city, in China’s Jiangxi Province.
His family members claimed that Jiangxi officials had been called in to assist in “an investigation of Falun Gong activities.”
However, a separate article on state-run media Xinhua said that he had been accused of attempting to transmit Falun Gong material on the official TV network.
Chung is a practitioner of Falun Gong, a peaceful spiritual practice which was outlawed in 1999 because of its widespread popularity in China. It’s practitioners have faced intimidation, torture and there is mounting evidence to suggest that they have been used as forced donors in China’s grisly organ trade.
In the statement, Amnesty published the names and addresses of three regional officials and called for its members to write to them with their concerns over Chung.
Specifically, members should seek guarantees that he will not be tortured, and that he has “immediate access to lawyers, his family and any medical attention he may require.”
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 19 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
