Academics have called for a comprehensive ban on schools promoting or advertising student trips linked to pro-China groups, following reports of sexual harassment during such visits organized by China’s “united front” work agencies.
“These trips, organized by the Association of Chinese Elites [ACE], are special programs funded by the Chinese Communist Party’s [CCP] ‘united front’ agencies. As such, they could be quite dangerous,” Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Monday. “If incidents of sexual harassment or assault occur, victims are often unable to report them to local authorities, as the CCP suppresses negative news coverage.”
Chen warned that if the alleged perpetrator has strong ties with the CCP, victims might face retaliation — including possible imprisonment — and the Taiwanese government would be unable to intervene effectively to bring them home.
Photo: Reuters
He urged the government to prohibit schools and educators from assisting in the promotion or advertising of such trips, which are typically framed as tourism or “educational exchanges,” but are largely funded and orchestrated by the CCP for propaganda purposes.
Calls for a blanket ban and stronger oversight intensified after a female university student said the director of the ACE — who personally led a trip to China in January — sexually harassed her.
The Ministry of Education on Monday said that the Youth Development Administration is investigating the ACE and its ties to Chinese organizations. If the probe finds contraventions of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the ministry said it would impose fines.
The itinerary provided by the complainant showed that the group traveled to Beijing, Hunan and Guangzhou, met with senior officials from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, and visited tourist sites such as the Forbidden City as well as university campuses as part of the 10-day program.
The complainant said that during the program, ACE director Chen Chang-feng (陳長風) sexually harassed her when everyone was at a birthday celebration organized for a group member, allegedly smearing cream from the birthday cake on her face and pressing her onto a bed, prompting her to scream.
She also said that later during the tour, while posing for a group photograph, Chen placed his hand around her waist, which she pushed away.
Chen denied pushing the student onto the bed, but admitted to smearing butter on her face, saying the group was “just horsing around” during the party and that the student had exaggerated the incident.
However, former participants told reporters they had heard of Chen’s inappropriate behavior, saying he was known for favoring more attractive female students and keeping them close throughout the trip. One participant said it was “as if he were selecting concubines,” Formosa Television reported.
The same report said that the program was laden with pro-China political messaging and served as a tool for indoctrinating Taiwanese students. In the January session this year, participants paid only NT$21,900, while the majority of costs — including airfare, hotel accommodations, meals, tours, travel insurance, local transportation, visits to historic sites, universities and tourist attractions — were subsidized by the Beijing government.
Critics said the unusually low cost, along with tours of major Chinese landmarks and the opportunity to meet senior Beijing officials, has enabled the ACE to attract large numbers of Taiwanese students over the past two decades.
They added that most of the program’s expenses were covered by the Chinese government.
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