Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said Thursday that it will send officials to accompany the wife of Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che to China's Hunan Province, where he is to stand trial for allegedly subverting state power.
The SEF will provide Lee Ching-yu with all necessary assistance and protect her safety, the semi-official organization said in a text message to the media.
The SEF has also requested Taiwanese businessmen in the Hunan cities of Changsha and Yueyang to help with related arrangements, it said.
The foundation is authorized by the government to handle Taiwan's relations with China in the absence of official ties.
Lee went missing after entering China via Macao on March 19 and was later confirmed to have been detained by the Chinese authorities.
The Chinese government said in May that Lee had been arrested on charges of "subversion of state power."
An Fengshan, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said Wednesday that Hunan's Yueyang Intermediate People's Court will hear Lee's case soon and that Lee has retained two lawyers to defend him.
Also Wednesday, Lee's wife said she had received a call from her husband's lawyer, who asked her to visit China immediately.
Lee Ching-yu attempted to go to China in April to rescue her husband, but could not board the plane because her permit to enter China had been invalidated by the Chinese authorities.
