A Taiwanese activist returned home Friday after serving a five-year jail sentence in China for “subversion of state power.”

Lee Ming-che disappeared in March 2017. A week after his disappearance, he was found in the custody of the Chinese government. He had been arrested and charged for subversion of state power.

During trial, Lee admitted to criticizing the Chinese Communist Party on the internet and promoting China to adopt a Taiwanese-style of democracy. However, his wife claimed that the trial was unfair because she was not allowed to hire an attorney for her husband.

The Chinese-Taiwanese relationship, which was already strained, became increasingly strained after the election of Tsai Ing-wen as Taiwan’s president. Tsai has pushed for Taiwan to become independent from China. In response to Tsai’s push for independence, China cut off contact with Taiwan’s government. 

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China announced Wednesday that Lee would be released.  The Taiwanese government stated that they were happy that Lee was returning home. The government also stated that they “believe that there is no crime in spreading democratic ideals.”

Lee’s case was the first criminal case of a nonprofit worker since China introduced a law regulating the administrative of activities of non-governmental within China. Lee was the first foreigner to be convicted of “harming China’s national security” after the 2016 law was enacted.