Two Taiwanese Unification Church members have been arrested in China and were unable to return to Taiwan as of Friday, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said.
Following the arrest, the SEF received a request for assistance from a family member of the two people arrested, SEF Deputy Secretary-General Li Pao-wen (黎寶文) said on Friday.
Li did not provide information about their identity, when and why they were arrested, or when the request was received.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Li’s remarks came after a Radio Taiwan International report on Feb. 28 quoted a Taiwanese man, Chang Tung-che (張棟澈), as saying that his parents, both Taiwanese, were detained for proselytizing on Jan. 12 by authorities in the Chinese city of Xiamen.
Chang’s father, Chang Pi-hsien (張丕賢), has been released on bail, while his mother, Lu Chia-chen (呂嘉珍), remains in detention, the report said.
Li said that the SEF, a semi-official organization tasked by the government to handle technical matters involving China, had sent an inquiry about the incident to its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).
The SEF also notified other government agencies in Taiwan about the arrest, including the Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Li said.
Engaging in “general religious exchanges” might not be an issue for Taiwanese in China, Li said.
However, “if Chinese authorities perceive it as ‘proselytizing,’ it could become more serious and pose greater risks,” he said.
The Unification Church, officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is a new religious movement founded in Seoul in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, and seeks to establish a “kingdom of heaven on earth” through the unification of humanity across racial, national and religious boundaries, the Korea Herald has said.
Nikkei Asia in 2022 estimated the church had about 3 million members worldwide.
The Chinese Communist Party is growing more wary of organized civil activities, religious groups have warned.
Three Taiwanese members of the I-Kuan Tao (一貫道) religious group were arrested in China in October last year for “organizing and practicing as members of a cult that undermines law enforcement,” the Mainland Affairs Council said.
The three I-Kuan Tao members remain in prison despite Taiwanese authorities urging China to facilitate their release over the past few months.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
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Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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