The government has launched a new hotline to help people evaluate possible safety risks before they travel to China, Hong Kong or Macau, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday.
The hotline is being launched amid growing inquiries from Taiwanese planning to travel to China, the council said.
In a news release, it said that the number of people who used its "Online Registration System for Taiwanese Citizens Visiting Mainland China" this year through Oct. 31 had increased 14-fold from the same period last year.
Photo: Taipei Times
Registrations for people traveling to Hong Kong and Macau had also increased five times compared to the same period last year, the council said.
Taiwanese traveling to China do not have to inform the Taiwanese government, but the system allows them to do so for safety reasons.
To assist people in using the online registration system, or to evaluate the potential safety risks of their planned travels, the council and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) have jointly launched a new hotline service, available on weekdays from 9am to 5pm, it said.
To call the hotline, travelers to China can use the council’s hotline at 2397-5589 ex. 5011 or the SEF's hotline at 2175-7000 ex. 7033, while travelers to Hong Kong or Macau can contact the council at 2397-5589 ex. 6015, the press release said.
This new service is being launched after Beijing amended and enacted several national security laws in recent years, and issued a new set of legal guidelines on June 21 targeting advocates of Taiwan independence.
There have also been a number of cases of Taiwanese citizens being "illegally detained, held and interrogated" in China, it said.
In response, the council raised its travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to the second-highest orange alert on June 27, urging Taiwanese citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to those places due to increasing safety concerns, the statement said.
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