Activist Jailed in China Urges Use of Tariffs to Improve China’s Human Rights

Taiwanese activist Morrison Li. Courtesy of Morrison Li

Morrison Li, a Taiwanese citizen who was jailed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has urged U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to use tariffs to pressure the CCP into improving human rights in China.

Trump, during his presidential campaign, said he intends to impose up to 60 percent tariffs on imports from China.

“Trump can use the customs tax to fight back in the economic warfare with China, and maybe some pro-democracy people can be released from jail.” Li said.

Li, a graduate of Long Island University with a master’s degree in business administration, said economic tools could compel the CCP to release democracy and human rights activists from detention. He said he considers the United States his second home and a beacon of freedom and democracy.

Li’s story is well known among overseas Chinese communities. On Aug. 20, 2019, he traveled from Hong Kong to mainland China and disappeared in Shenzhen. Following inquiries by Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation—a semi-governmental institution that addresses issues related to mainland China—CCP authorities stated that Li had been arrested for “spy” activities.

At the time, Li worked for a Taiwanese tech company and was in Shenzhen for a business meeting. His visit coincided with the height of Hong Kong’s anti-extradition protests. From his hotel window, he reportedly photographed armed police gathering at the Shenzhen–Hong Kong border.

These photos were discovered during a border checkpoint inspection as Li attempted to leave China, leading to his arrest. He was convicted and sentenced to a year and 10 months in prison, along with an additional two-year suspension of political rights. Li was finally allowed to leave China in July 2023.

Under China’s Exit and Entry Administration Law, people sentenced by the CCP cannot leave the country until their sentences are fully served. The CCP regards Taiwan as a province of China and treated Li as a Chinese citizen.

After his release in 2021, Li was forced to remain in mainland China to complete his two-year suspension of political rights, and so endured nearly four years of detention and restrictions before his departure.

During his time in China, Li became increasingly involved in civil rights movements. He told The Epoch Times that he met prominent human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng during that period.

On April 13, 2023, Yu and his wife, Xu Yan, were detained by police while en route to a meeting with the European Union’s ambassador to China in Beijing. They were later charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

Just more than a year later, on April 15, the International Service for Human Rights released a statement urging the CCP to free Yu and his wife. The statement was co-signed by 30 human rights organizations.

On Oct. 29, Yu was sentenced to three years in prison, and his wife received a sentence of one year and nine months.

On Nov. 28, Li delivered a lecture at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan titled “What TikTok and Xiaohongshu Won’t Tell You: Civil Movements and Human Rights Development in Greater China.” In his address, he reflected on, analyzed, and predicted the future of human rights movements in China and Hong Kong.

Both TikTok and Xiaohongshu are China-based social media platforms.

In his speech, Li said that over the past few decades, civil society in China and Hong Kong has undergone cycles of development, prosperity, and repression. He said the CCP does not tolerate strong, interconnected, and active civil societies, as such movements threaten its grip on power.

He also said that Taiwanese citizens must recognize the dangers of believing in the CCP’s “one country, two systems” framework. Li said that it is impossible to maintain both democratic and authoritarian systems within a single country, citing Hong Kong as a cautionary tale of how a vibrant democracy can be undermined by CCP authoritarianism.