Taiwan will respond to hostile acts by China against Taiwanese under the pretext of rooting out spies, Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏) said yesterday, adding that Beijing would have to take responsibility for the consequences of its actions.
Jan made the remarks ahead of China’s enforcement of its amended Counter-espionage Law tomorrow, which vastly expands the meaning of espionage from covering state secrets to any “documents, data, materials or items related to national security and interests.”
The council is aware of many cases of Taiwanese nationals being questioned, held and indefinitely detained without cause by Chinese authorities, Jan said, adding that lawmakers, academics and ordinary people were among those victimized by Beijing.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
These incidents have increased over the past few months, he said.
Taiwanese, including those attending exchange programs, could be subjected to questioning and a search of their devices when passing through Chinese customs, he said.
Some Taiwanese were refused entry and sent back to Taiwan while others were detained, he said.
Official requests for information about the status of detainees fell on deaf ears, he said.
In a breach of cross-strait law enforcement cooperation agreements, Chinese authorities have on multiple occasions failed to notify Taipei that they have detained Taiwanese travelers, he said.
Taipei cannot render legal aid to Taiwanese who have been detained without being informed of the charges against them or where they are being held, he said.
The government does not know how many Taiwanese are currently being held in China, he added
Taiwanese planning to visit China for any type of exchanges should ask the Chinese event organizer to provide a guarantee of safe passage for the duration of the event, he said.
Taiwanese attending such events should stay in a group, avoid getting separated and immediately ask for help from others if something is amiss, Jan said.
If a member is subjected to questioning or detention, the group should ask the event’s Chinese organizer for help, demand an explanation from the authorities and contact the council or the Straits Exchange Foundation, he said.
China-bound travelers should check to see if any information stored in their personal devices could conceivably incriminate them to Chinese authorities and be prepared for their devices to be searched or confiscated, he said.
The council recommends Taiwanese visiting China to back up their devices and delete all locally stored data, Jan said.
Beijing should stop using the safety of Taiwanese in its territory as an instrument of political manipulation and take steps to ensure that the rights of travelers are respected, Jan said.
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