"Taiwan activist says did forced labour in China but not tortured", 10 May 2022

A Taiwanese activist jailed in China said on Tuesday that he was subjected to forced labour and endured stale food while serving a five-year sentence, but that he was not tortured.

Li Ming-che, a community college lecturer and activist at a human rights non-governmental organisation in Taiwan, disappeared while visiting China in 2017.

Later that year, a Chinese court found him guilty of subversion. He was released from jail and returned to Taiwan last month.

Speaking to reporters at Taiwan's parliament, Li said he was forced to make clothing including shoes and gloves during his time in jail, working 11-12 hours a day with few days off, and he was not allowed to speak to most other prisoners.

"It was totally a sweat shop," he said.

While the food was also stale, Li said he was neither tortured nor "whipped", but that he had considered himself to have been "kidnapped" by the Chinese government.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment...