One-quarter of the Chinese who visited Taiwan as foreign professionals last year have connections to political or government agencies and traveled to Taiwan to bolster Beijing’s “united front” tactics, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
More than 183,000 Chinese visited on professional exchange permits, with 47,880, or 26 percent, having political or government backgrounds, Chen said, citing National Immigration Agency data.
Chen said that the number might be higher, as Chinese tourists reportedly often conceal their identities.
Chen referred to Wu Xin (吳昕), who purported to be a private citizen on an entry application, but was found to be an economic official in China’s Fujian Province.
Wu gained notoriety after entering a restricted room at a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) building and posting photographs online in October last year.
The agency said that Chinese with ties to official agencies must state that on their visa applications, adding that those who fail to do so would be barred from entering Taiwan — as Wu has been.
Chinese executives or “sensitive” Chinese citizens must obtain the approval of a joint review committee formed by the agency, the National Security Bureau, Mainland Affairs Council and other institutions, the agency said.
About 54 percent of those with political or government backgrounds, or 25,861, were of that nature last year, it added.
Chen said that visits by Chinese officials are aimed at bolstering the united front strategy, as Chinese officials have attempted to curry the favor of Taiwanese with large orders of agricultural products and other tactics.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration “opens the door, but fails to maintain security,” as the visa approval rate for Chinese applicants has reached about 90 percent and Chinese officials can easily conceal their identity and enter Taiwan, Chen said.
“We really are surrounded by Chinese spies,” he said.
It is easy for Chinese officials to hide their identities, as the visa system requires applicants to file an online request that the agency must review within 48 hours, preventing background checks on applicants.
The agency has “connived” with Chinese officials, allowing a meeting between Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Deputy Chairman Zheng Lizhong (鄭立中) in October last year and another between Chen Bao-ji and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Deputy Director Gong Qinggai (龔清概) in August last year, for which the agency has taken no disciplinary action, Chen said.
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