The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) on Friday urged followers of the religious group I-Kuan Tao not to travel to China after three more Taiwanese group members were detained there earlier this month.
SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said the three were detained in two separate incidents in Fujian and Guangdong provinces.
The people were restricted from leaving and later detained for unclear reasons, he said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
However, Luo did not say how long the people were detained for and whether they are still being held by the Chinese authorities.
According to the SEF, a total of 19 Taiwanese nationals in 17 separate cases have been detained in China for religious reasons since 2019.
Among them, 14 people in 13 cases were followers of I-Kuan Tao, while others were affiliated with the Unification Church and Christian groups, Luo said.
He said the I-Kuan Tao has previously urged followers not to travel to China, and the SEF and civic groups have repeatedly issued similar warnings.
China passed its Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress in March, which could increase risks for Taiwanese traveling there, Luo added.
The Chinese authorities did not notify Taiwan about the latest detentions, he said, following 10 years of suspension of communication mechanisms between the SEF and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.
The SEF is a semi-official body tasked by the government with handling matters involving Taiwanese people in China and exchanges between the two sides.
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