China frees a Taiwanese after 1,400 days

A Taiwanese businessman was freed after more than 1,400 days after being charged with espionage for taking photos of police officers in Shenzhen in 2019. "I felt huge relief after passing passport control and cried a little, I'm back in the free world," Mr Lee told the BBC before boarding a plane. Arrested and imprisoned, he was accused of espionage and theft of state secrets. He was released from prison in July 2021, but was prevented from leaving China because he was "deprived of political rights". A rare sanction that includes a ban on the exit of detainees who are not citizens of mainland China. According to activists, Mr. Lee's Taiwanese identity may have prompted the authorities to crack down in light of tensions with Taii.