《TAIPEI TIMES》 Cases of Taiwanese detained, missing in China rising rapidly

UNHEALTHY EXCHANGE: China promotes cross-strait exchanges while targeting Taiwanese’s privacy and li...…

An infographic on Taiwanese who have gone missing or are being detained in China since 2024. Photo: Screen grab from the Mainland Affairs Council’s Facebook page

UNHEALTHY EXCHANGE: China promotes cross-strait exchanges while targeting Taiwanese’s privacy and liberties, so they amount to traps, the DPP said

By William Hetherington / Staff writer, with CNA

The government has received 385 reports of missing or detained Taiwanese in China from the beginning of 2024 to Wednesday, the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） said in a post yesterday, urging the public to avoid non-essential travel there.

The post followed a news conference on Thursday, during which Mainland Affairs Council （MAC） Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh （梁文傑） said 10 such cases had been reported in the previous week alone.

The number of cases rose from 55 in 2024 to 221 last year, with 109 reported so far this year, MAC data showed.

The DPP department called on Beijing to immediately end what it described as improper political controls.

It warned the public that risks associated with traveling to China continue to increase and advised them not to take non-essential trips to the country.