Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) yesterday cautioned about traveling to China hours after the US Department of State issued a warning urging Americans to reconsider visiting that country.
“China’s passage of the Foreign Relations Act and the new version of the Counterespionage Law expose foreigners, including Taiwanese nationals, to the risks of arbitrary law enforcement, detention and exit bans,” Wang wrote on Facebook.
The “Level 3” advisory on travel to China, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, is the most serious warning that can be issued by the State Department short of an outright travel ban, he said, adding that “Level 2” advisories were issued for Hong Kong and Macau.
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“Taiwanese should pay attention to the situation, as the expression ‘enter not into a tottering state’ applies,” Wang said.
“All foreigners should be alerted to the increased risks of arbitrary arrests they face in China,” he said.
On Friday, the Mainland Affairs Council called on Taiwanese to avoid traveling to China, adding that many Taiwanese have been questioned and detained indefinitely.
An exact number cannot be established, as Beijing has refused to release information about Taiwanese held by its police, contravening cross-strait agreements on law enforcement cooperation, it said.
The US advisory says that US nationals are urged to “reconsider travel” to China due to “arbitrary enforcement of local laws” that can lead to “exit bans and wrongful detentions.”
The warning came a week after China passed a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatened countermeasures against those accused of “harming China’s interests.”
China also recently passed a counterespionage law penalizing the transfer of information related to national security and broadening the scope of spying, which has resulted in raids on foreign businesses.
“The People’s Republic of China [PRC] arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on US citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the State Department wrote. “US citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crime.”
Chinese officials “appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics or materials as state secrets, and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage,” it said.
Activities that could be construed as potential breaches include taking part in demonstrations, sending electronic messages critical of Chinese policies or conducting research about sensitive topics, it said.
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