Publisher Freed by Taiwanese May Face ‘Reform Education’

Tensions between the United States and Taiwan over last week’s arrest of the publisher of a Monterey Park-based, Chinese-language newspaper eased Thursday with her release from prison and announcement that the maximum punishment she might face would be assignment to “reformatory education.”

Lee Ya-ping, 62, allegedly admitted while in custody to illegal distribution of her publication in Taiwan and expressed remorse, according to a statement by the Los Angeles office of the Coordination Council for North American Affairs, Taiwan’s quasi-official diplomatic mission.

A military prosecutor recommended “reformatory education” as an appropriate sentence “in consideration of Lee’s expression of deep remorse,” the statement said. It was not clear what such a sentence entails.

Lee’s son, Simon Chen, general manager of the publication, the International Daily News, said he believes Taiwan’s action is intended as a face-saving way to bring the case to a close.

“I’m so happy the government of Taiwan released my mother with good intent,” Chen said.

Must Stay in Taiwan

Lee was released on condition that she remain in Taiwan pending resolution of her case and that she present herself to authorities “whenever they want her,” according to Anthony Yuen, editor-in-chief of the International Daily News.

The International Daily News, which defines itself as a middle-of-the-road paper in the political rivalry between Taipei and Peking, has carried news and commentary that resulted in Taiwan authorities banning its circulating on the island.

Chen, who said the paper has a daily circulation of 58,000, said he had not discussed with his mother whether she admitted any guilt.

“She doesn’t want to talk to anyone for a few days,” he said. Having just been released from detention, “it would be very smart for her not to say anything,” Chen said. “If she says something, maybe the Garrison Command can use that against her for other charges.”

Victor Chang, a spokesman in Taiwan’s Los Angeles office, said no trial will be necessary in Lee’s case. This is because “apparently the military prosecutor considers her case not that serious to send her to court,” and because she admitted to the charge and expressed remorse, he said.

The anti-sedition statute that Lee was arrested under can carry a death penalty, but Taiwan officials have stressed that she never faced more than a possible prison term.

State Department Reacts

The U.S. State Department issued a statement that it “is gratified that the Taiwan authorities acted so expeditiously and reasonably in releasing Ms. Lee. . . . We understand that the final written verdict will be issued soon by the court, that the education need not be in a penal institution and that it can be ended whenever its purpose has been attained.”

A total of 1,099 copies of the International Daily News were confiscated in a Taipei office used by the paper’s staff and at two schools in Kaohsiung city owned by Lee’s family, the Taiwan statement said.

Chen said the newspapers were brought into Taiwan with the permission of Taiwan authorities for the reference of staff members who worked at the locations where the papers were seized.

“We promised not to give them out to anybody, which we never did,” he added.

Chen said his mother, while in custody, was unaware of the protests and requests for her release made by the U.S. State Department and members of Congress. She wants to attend to business matters in Taiwan and have some dental work done there before returning to the United States, he added.

“She can’t get out of there, escape and run away--she’s not that kind of person,” Chen said. “She said, ‘I will be OK.’ That’s my mother.”

Rep. Stephen J. Solarz (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee on Asian and Pacific affairs, who last week warned that the incident could threaten U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, released a statement praising Taiwan authorities for “their reasonable and expeditious step. . . . Their handling of this case has enabled us to avoid what could have been a very serious crisis in the relations between the United States and Taiwan.”