Taiwanese human rights activist Lee Ming-che, who has been in a Chinese prison for nearly four years, has been in the news over the past week. To mark the fourth anniversary of his arrest on March 19, several civic groups, including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan, urged China to resume his family’s visitation rights.

Cycling from Wenshan Community College, where Lee used to work, to Freedom Plaza in downtown Taipei, group members chanted “freedom of speech is not a crime; release Lee Ming-che immediately.”  Activists used cycling and short speeches to raise public awareness of Lee’s plight.

They accused China of not allowing Lee’s family to visit him. They also said that while Lee is expected to be released and return to Taiwan next year, the exact date of his release remains uncertain, which is something unimaginable in a democracy.  They lambasted China for human rights violations and totalitarianism.