More Taiwanese questioned in China in wake of revised law: NSB
ROC Central News Agency
10/04/2023 05:21 PM
Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) Taiwan's top intelligence chief has warned that Taiwanese nationals who travel to China are facing greater risks as more Taiwanese have been questioned by Chinese immigration since a revised Chinese Counter-Espionage Law took effect in July.
National Security Bureau Director-general Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said only four Taiwanese nationals were questioned by Chinese immigration authorities upon arrival in the first half of the year, according to the NSB's understanding.
From July 1 to the present, however, nine people have been questioned, he said, but they were all later released and have since returned safely to Taiwan, Tsai said.
During the brief detentions, Chinese authorities have checked travelers' mobile phones and laptops to see if they have criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or commented on related political issues on social media before their trips, Tsai said.
Most of those questioned by Chinese side were Taiwanese scholars, representatives of NGOs and even the Chinese spouses of Taiwanese nationals, he said.
The numbers represent small fractions of the hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese who will travel directly to China from Taiwan this year.
In the first six months of 2023, 599,837 Taiwanese nationals traveled directly to China, according to Tourism Administration statistics, and another 406,000 went there in July and August.
These numbers do not include people who went to China indirectly through third countries or territories, such as Hong Kong.
Despite the low statistical probability of being harassed, however, Tsai warned Taiwanese nationals to be on high alert when traveling to China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.
According to Tsai, the NSB has learned of 13 Taiwanese nationals who have been incarcerated in China after traveling there, but he did not say how many of them have been released.
The NSB chief made the remarks during a Legislative session in response to a question by a lawmaker on whether more Taiwanese have been questioned by Chinese immigration since the newly revised Counter-Espionage Law came into effect in China on July 1.
The amendments significantly expanded the scope of activities that can be considered espionage by adding a catch-all provision, and codified the enforcement powers of relevant authorities.
Meanwhile, when asked by lawmakers about the possibility of Chinese interference in Taiwan's January 2024 presidential election, the NSB head said the CCP could use economic coercion to put pressure on Taiwanese businesspeople in China in an attempt to influence their votes.
Also, the CCP has continued to wage disinformation warfare against Taiwan, including by making use of China-friendly Russian news media and other foreign language fake news, to spread misinformation or disinformation, he said.
(By Novia Huang and Joseph Yeh)
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