Taiwanese authorities are warning of growing risks for citizens traveling to China after the number reported missing, detained, or questioned there rose by seven in a single week, bringing the total to 426 since the beginning of 2024. The figures come as Beijing prepares to implement revised entry-exit regulations on Sept. 15 that Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) says could give Chinese authorities greater discretion and scrutiny to restrict travelers from leaving the country.
According to the MAC’s latest weekly security report, covering Jan. 1, 2024, through Aug. 27, 2026, 160 Taiwanese have been reported missing in China, 36 have been detained for questioning, and 230 are suspected of being detained by Chinese authorities.
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The combined figure increased from 419 on Aug. 21 to 426 as of Aug. 27, with five additional people reported missing and two more suspected of being detained by Chinese authorities in the span of a week. The increase comes amid heightened warnings from Taipei over the risks Taiwanese citizens may face while traveling in China, particularly as Beijing expands the use of national security and other broadly defined regulations to crack down on cross-border movement.
Taiwan warns of growing travel risks
The MAC said China’s revised entry-exit regulations largely codify existing control measures but warned that vaguely defined provisions could leave substantial room for discretion by authorities. Taiwanese traveling on Mainland Travel Permits could potentially fall under the regulations, according to Newtalk News, a Taiwanese online-native news organization. The rules also contain provisions concerning electronic-data inspections and restrictions on departure in national-security or criminal investigations.
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The MAC highlighted technology professionals and Taiwanese businesspeople as potentially higher-risk groups because the revised regulations specifically include export controls and technology import-export management among circumstances that could lead to restrictions on departure.
Meanwhile, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office has rejected Taipei’s warnings and maintained that Taiwanese travelers have no reason to fear visiting the mainland. Taiwan has governed itself separately from China since 1949, but Beijing claims the democratic island as a rightful part of its territory despite never having controlled it. Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders have called “reunification” with Taiwan “inevitable” and have refused to renounce the use of military force to achieve that goal.
In response, the MAC cited previous cases involving Taiwanese citizens detained or arrested over political or religious issues and urged travelers to China, Hong Kong, and Macau to carefully assess potential risks before departing. It also recommended registering travel details through Taiwan’s online travel-registration system so authorities can provide assistance if necessary.
Taiwanese traveler questioned for six hours
The warning comes amid a separate account involving a Taiwanese traveler who reportedly abandoned a trip to Shanghai after being questioned for approximately six hours over previous work with human rights organization Amnesty International.
According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, a Threads user posting under the account “vincentchou08” wrote on Aug. 30 that his son arrived in Shanghai on Aug. 29 for a business trip but was stopped while passing through immigration and taken to a separate room for questioning. The post said three plainclothes officers focused heavily on the traveler’s previous work with Amnesty International.
Authorities allegedly asked him to unlock his phone and examined conversations and files retained from his former job. Questions then centered on his responsibilities at the organization by asking whether he had participated in reports or advocacy concerning China, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, or Tibet; the organization’s sources of funding; contacts with Taiwanese or international politicians and human rights advocates; and his actual reason for entering China.
A concerning pattern
The traveler told authorities that he had not been a decision-maker or leading advocate at the organization, no longer worked there, and was entering China for personal reasons. After the prolonged questioning, he ultimately chose to abandon the trip and returned to Taiwan that evening.
The traveler’s father also questioned how Chinese authorities had obtained information about his son’s previous employment. “I’m more curious about why customs had access to this work history? It turns out that Chinese intelligence agencies have long been compiling lists of employees, interns and volunteers at international human rights organizations and major Taiwanese NGOs,” the man’s father said, “His name may have already been placed on a border inspection ‘watchlist’ without his knowledge.”
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