Wo Weihan executed
In 2007 Wo Weihan was accused and found guilty of 'spying' for Taiwan.
Watch a video made by Wo Weihan's daughter appealing for her father not to be executed.
Knowing that his execution may be imminent Wo Weihan had attempted to divorce his wife - he thought that she would face hardship in the future being the widow of an executed prisoner.
One of Wo Weihan's daughter, Ran Chen lives abroad and had appealed for international condemnation of her father's treatment by Chinese authorities. Ran Chen called on world leaders to raise her father's case with Chinese leaders in the lead up to and during the Olympic Games. Heinz Fischer, the Austrian President, and Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, had appealed to Beijing not to kill Wo Weihan who had previously lived in Austria.
Wo Weihan's execution took place on the day of the European Union / China dialogue on human rights. Of this timing, Austria’s Foreign Minister, Ursula Plassnik, said "...shows the lack of consideration and the harshness with which this case has been handled. This [must] be considered as a premeditated affront by the entire EU.”
Ran Chen met her father on 27 November and said that her father had not been told of his impending execution and that she never received written confirmation from the Supreme People's Court that her father had lost his final appeal. Weihan's family had been advised they would get to see him once more before the execution - this did not happen, the Washington Post has reported that the execution was by gunshot on 28 November.
Taiwanese media has been paying particular attention to the case as Wo Weihan was accused of "spying" for Taiwan, he was convicted in May of passing military documents and classified information about an unnamed Chinese leader to Taiwan. Wo's family said he initially confessed to the crimes but later recanted, saying the confession had been coerced. The evidence against him was deemed a state secret, and even his attorney was not allowed to discuss it with his family.
I hope that Australia is bringing diplomatic pressure to bear in the fight against this prehistoric legislation.
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8 February 2012, 11:02PM