The number of reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China has reached 313 since Jan. 1, 2024, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) data showed.
Last month, 17 Taiwanese were reported missing or detained in China, with half of them still unaccounted for, a MAC official said on condition of anonymity.
The number of cases has been increasing every month, the official added.
Photo: Taipei Times
Last year, 221 cases were reported, a fourfold increase from 55 in 2024, MAC data showed.
Of the 313 cases reported from Jan. 1, 2024, through the end of last month, 114 people went missing, 25 were detained or interrogated, and 174 had their personal liberties restricted, the MAC said.
The real number is estimated to be up to three times higher, as many cases are not reported to the authorities, sources said.
China in June 2024 issued a 22-point set of guidelines used to penalize “die-hard” Taiwanese independence separatists, allowing the Chinese Communist Party to more easily detain or interrogate Taiwanese.
Since then, it has become increasingly risky for Taiwanese to visit China, Hong Kong or Macau, authorities said.
A report by the Chinese Supreme People’s Court and the Chinese Supreme People’s Procuratorate, earlier this month cited the case of Gusa Press editor-in-chief Li Yanhe (李延賀), commonly known by his pen name Fucha (富察).
Li was convicted of inciting secession and undermining national unity, the report said.
Li was arrested and detained by Chinese national security authorities while visiting relatives in China in March 2023.
The Chinese National People’s Congress described Li’s sentencing as a “punishment for Taiwanese independence die-hards,” an official said.
Li was prosecuted without due process and sent to jail, they said.
The official also criticized China’s push for the “Sinicization of religion,” bringing increased risk to Taiwanese who travel to China to take part in religious activities.
Several Taiwanese members of the I-Kuan Tao religious group remain in detention in China, the official said.
As the Chinese Communist Party is officially secular, religious exchanges could be used as a tool for political influence over Taiwan, they said.
Taiwanese should continue to assess the potential risks before traveling to China, they added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS