According to data released by the Mainland Affairs Council, in the first 10 months of this year, 178 Taiwanese who traveled to China went missing, were detained, were questioned or had their personal freedom restricted — a threefold increase compared with last year.
Taiwanese university students next month begin their longest winter break in history thanks to the new 16-week semester system many universities have adopted. This extended break has been prioritized by Chinese “united front” organizations as a prime opportunity to lure young Taiwanese to visit.
Through civic organizations cooperating with China’s United Front Work Department and Taiwan Affairs Office, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has begun offering extremely low-cost “exchange” trips to attract Taiwanese university students to travel to China, with some eight-day trips costing as little as NT$4,000.
Although the trip itineraries are framed as “cultural exchange,” “youth forums” or “holiday travel,” they are carefully designed for political indoctrination. Participants are required to provide detailed information, such as their social media accounts, campus roles and views on cross-strait relations — tactics the CCP uses for talent screening and political evaluation.
International research indicates that tens of thousands of Taiwanese students have already taken part in similar programs, some of which place students in tightly controlled campus environments to receive Chinese nationalist messaging.
The CCP is conducting talent screening and political orientation assessments in preparation for future “united front” work.
People must recognize that traveling to China for “exchanges” involves not only political indoctrination, but risks to one’s personal safety. State Organs (國有器官), a documentary released in October last year, exposed how Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities, and covered the issue of human organs from unknown sources being used in China’s organ transplant market.
The UN, the US Department of State and multiple national parliaments have confirmed that the CCP has carried out large-scale forced organ harvesting.
Under China’s judicial system, which lacks legitimate legal protections, individual rights and personal safety are completely disregarded. This is why Taiwanese must remain highly suspicious of these ridiculously cheap “exchange” trips.
In March, a 56-year-old travel industry operator from Hualien County surnamed Chen (陳), who was part of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi’s (傅?萁) delegation to Hong Kong, was arrested upon arrival and accused of involvement in a money laundering case from 25 years ago. She was reportedly arrested before she even had the chance to claim her luggage, and Fu later stated that he “had never known” her.
Chen’s case is proof that once you step into any territory under CCP control, personal safety and legal protections can vanish instantly — past cases can be revived and used against you at any time.
The Ministry of Education issued a warning to universities, reminding faculty and students not to participate in China’s “united front” activities. It emphasized that cross-strait exchanges must be based on mutual respect, and adherence to laws and regulations.
Universities should turn this warning into concrete action by providing information literacy education, establishing registration mechanisms for travel to China, offering alternative international exchange opportunities, strengthening communication with parents and providing psychological counseling for students returning from these “exchange” trips.
Taiwan’s freedom, democracy and respect for human rights are what makes this nation precious.
As the CCP attempts to use this year’s unusually long winter break as an opening for “united front” infiltration, every parent must become a guardian. People must help university students understand that even a single low-cost “exchange” trip might carry multiple risks — such as being included on “united front” lists, having personal freedom restricted, or even facing threats to personal safety.
Only adequate education and vigilance can ensure that future Taiwanese generations do not become captives of the CCP’s “united front” efforts and human rights violations, so that we might continue safeguarding our nation’s democratic system and the dignity of our way of life.
Yang Chih-chiang is a teacher.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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