Trial of Taiwan defendant follows due process: spokesman

BEIJING - The investigation and trial of Lee Ming-che, a man from Taiwan, has been conducted in accordance with the law and due process, a Chinese mainland spokesman said Wednesday.

An Fengshan, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press conference that the rights and interests of the defendant and his family had been fully protected.

An said any attempt to politically manipulate or use the case to smear the mainland's political and legal system would prove futile.

He said that everybody on the mainland should abide by the law, regulations and public order, or they would be punished.

Lee was accused of subverting state power and stood trial Monday in a court in the city of Yueyang in Hunan Province.

A defendant from the mainland, Peng Yuhua, faced the same charge during the open trial.

An said the defendants' families had been properly informed of the trial proceedings, and the court allowed Lee to meet with his mother and wife after the trial, as per the family's request.

Videos and reports of the trial were published on the official Weibo account of the Yueyang City Intermediate People's Court. A number of media organizations from the mainland and Taiwan covered the trial.

The verdict will be announced at a later date.