New hotlines to help people evaluate possible safety risks before they travel to China, Hong Kong or Macau have been launched, the Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement on Monday.
The hotlines were launched amid a rise in inquiries from Taiwanese planning to travel to China, the council said.
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, it said.
Photo: Reuters
Registrations for people traveling to Hong Kong and Macau had increased five-fold from the same period last year, it added.
Taiwanese traveling to China do not have to inform the government, but for safety reasons, there is a system that allows it, the council said.
To assist people to use the new online registration system, or to evaluate potential safety risks of their travel plans, the council and the Straits Exchange Foundation jointly launched the hotline services, which are available on weekdays from 9am to 5pm, it said.
People planning to travel to China can use the Mainland Affairs Council’s hotline at (02) 2397-5589 (ex 5011) or the Straits Exchange Foundation’s hotline at (02) 2175-7000 (ex 7033), while people traveling to Hong Kong or Macau can contact the council at (02) 2397-5589 (ex 6015), the statement said.
The services were launched after Beijing amended and enacted national security laws in the past few years, and on June 21 issued a new set of guidelines targeting advocates of Taiwanese independence.
There have also been multiple cases of Taiwanese being “illegally detained, held and interrogated” in China, the council said.
The council on June 27 raised its travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to the second-highest “orange” level, urging people to avoid unnecessary travel there due to increasing safety concerns, it added.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS