There have been reports of increasing numbers of Taiwanese going missing in China. One major case was the detention of Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che (李明哲), and now China has confirmed that it has detained Taiwan Union of Cross-strait Relations Associations chairman Tsai Chin-shu (蔡金樹).
The Straits Exchange Foundation revealed that it has processed 149 cases of Taiwanese nationals who have gone missing in China since May 2016. Of these, 67 have disappeared without a trace. No one knows what fate has befallen them.
It is simply astonishing that so many Taiwanese have gone missing in China over the past three years. In any other free, democratic nation, if even two or three nationals had gone missing there would have been an uproar. By contrast, in Taiwan it seems that people accept this state of affairs as completely normal. It is enough to make one see red.
Personal safety is a basic human right. Taiwan is a free, democratic nation that upholds human rights. In dealing with the Chinese communists, who do as they please, the government has signed a cross-strait judicial mutual assistance agreement, but it does appear that this agreement is, for all intents and purposes, dead in the water. It seems Taipei’s options are extremely limited when Taiwanese go missing in China.
In addition to looking into the 67 missing Taiwanese in China, the government should also endeavor to find out more about the remainder of the nearly 150 cases so that it can be determined who they are and the circumstances in which they went missing. Were they in China on business or for leisure? Were they visiting family or working? Where and when did they go missing?
Individual trails might go cold, but at least the information obtained would provide a better understanding of what is going on. If Taiwanese had a better understanding of the basic details behind the missing cases, they could at least have a more heightened sense of the potential dangers of going to China.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle should look into doing something about the 149 missing cases. If they cannot guarantee the personal safety of Republic of China citizens, how can they talk about improving their lives?
Ho Hua-kuo is a retired professor of National Chiayi University.
Translated by Paul Cooper
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