A Taiwanese man who had been detained in China for nearly two months returned to the island on Saturday, Taiwanese authorities said, in a case that led to protests at home and drew international concerns.
Chung Ting-pang, a follower of the Falungong spiritual movement and a technology company manager, had not been seen since he checked in for his return flight from mainland China on June 18, according to his relatives.
"Chung Ting-pang came back to Taiwan today after the government actively negotiated with the Chinese side," said the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top China policy-making body, without elaborating.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency had said authorities suspected that Chung obtained classified documents, brought in broadcasting equipment and worked to sabotage television services on the mainland.
Xinhua later said that Chung, suspected of endangering national security and public safety, had "confessed and shown remorse". Relatives said he might have been forced to confess.
Chung's family had appealed to the United States to secure his release while his supporters were seen at all spots along the route of a top Chinese negotiator who was in Taipei earlier this week to sign an investment deal.
China banned the Falungong in 1999 and strictly prohibits its activities.
Advocates say that the Chung case marks a rare instance in which Beijing has targeted someone not from the mainland.
