During his second meeting with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Guangzhou, China, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) halfheartedly expressed his opinion on China’s unilateral decision to replace the paper-based “Taiwan Compatriot Permit” with electronic cards.
Zhang’s response was that the electronic card is implemented because Taiwanese need it, especially businesspeople and students.
However, the impact of this change should not be underestimated.
China’s domestic affairs have been quite problematic in recent years. The transformation of its household registration system, the management of temporary residential registration and the proliferation of unregistered households in major cities have created major issues.
According to Chinese government data, 5.36 million visits by Taiwanese were registered last year; as for the number of so-called “Taiwanese rovers” stranded in major Chinese cities, their numbers could reach several thousand. Certainly these factors could affect the stability of China’s social structure.
According to articles in China’s Measure for the Control of Chinese Citizens Traveling to or from the Region of Taiwan, Taiwanese who stay in inns, hotels, guesthouses, schools, enterprises, public institutions or agencies, organizations or other entities have to fill out temporary lodging registration forms.
Those who stay with a relative or a friend should apply for temporary lodging registration at a local police station or household registration office within 24 hours, or 72 hours in rural areas.
Probably few Taiwanese who stay at a friend or relative’s house would submit an application for temporary registration. That is why the Chinese State Council finalized its revision of the measure in June, not only emphasizing that Taiwanese travelers must apply for temporary lodging registration, but also legislating penalties for failing to do so. Coincidentally, the Chinese National Security Act also came into effect on July 1.
Although the act cannot exert power across the Taiwan Strait, once Taiwanese enter China, their whereabouts are no longer off the radar, and what they say or write can get them into trouble.
The electronic “Taiwan Compatriot Permit,” which has an embedded IC chip, has been introduced, lodging in China requires registration and passengers’ real names must be submitted to ride on high-speed trains — this means that the whereabouts of Taiwanese are recorded in full. By comparing travelers’ data, the location of their lodging can be determined.
Even if they do not apply for temporary lodging registration, China claims to be a country under the rule of law, and once its police departments start to take lack of compliance seriously, it would be impossible for anyone to avoid the controls.
This means that the measures will make management and control of Taiwanese travelers and “rovers” more effective. What kind of harm will this card cause to Taiwanese intelligence agents working in China? Perhaps the National Security Bureau has already devised a comprehensive plan to respond.
China launched the new electronic card without negotiating with the government at all. It told Taiwanese how beneficial it is for them to be exempt from paying visa fees to enter China. Beijing went on to experiment with these new policies in Xiamen, in China’s Fujian Province, before finally announcing their general implementation.
It shows how dexterous China is in applying its strategies. There will be more episodes such as this in the future.
Chen Wei-chung is a former section chief at the National Security Bureau.
Translated by Ethan Zhan
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