Reports last year of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China were four times higher than the previous year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said today.
Last year, 221 Taiwanese nationals who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said.
Reopening group tours to China for Taiwanese would be risky as it would leave them with no way to seek help after Beijing shut down dialogue between the “two associations for tourism,” it said.
Photo: Reuters
The Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and China’s Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Strait were established by Taipei and Beijing respectively to facilitate tourism coordination.
Previously, when Taiwanese traveled to China and encountered any travel contingencies, they could contact the two associations for assistance, the MAC said.
With communication suspended between the two associations, Taiwanese travelers to China no longer have the same safety protections and face heightened risk when visiting the country, it said.
The two associations should first hold discussions before resuming cross-strait tourism, as the safety and interests of Taiwanese are the main priority for the MAC, it said.
The government has continued to extend goodwill to China, though it would not compromise on citizens’ rights and safety, the MAC said, calling on the travel industry and the public to support efforts to build an improved framework for “cross-strait tourism 2.0.”
Meanwhile, Cheng Cheng-yung (鄭正勇), director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Bureau of Consular Affairs, said that updated travel advisories now consider whether countries have signed extradition treaties or bilateral judicial assistance treaties with China.
Before traveling abroad, citizens are advised to check the ministry’s travel advisory classification table on the bureau’s Web site to assess the safety of their destination, he said.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
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