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.
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