TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's top official overseeing relations with China revealed Tuesday (April 22) that 82 Taiwanese citizens have gone missing or been forcibly detained while visiting China and its special administrative regions. Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正), minister of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) — the government agency responsible for policies regarding China — urged Taiwanese travelers to utilize the council's dynamic registration system before crossing the strait to ensure swift assistance in emergencies.
Speaking to reporters before appearing at Taiwan's parliament for policy questions, Minister Chiu stressed that registration remains voluntary while expressing gratitude to the Tourism Administration (觀光署) and industry groups for promoting the safety initiative. Addressing concerns about reinstating the streamlined "one-stop" tourism framework with China, Chiu emphasized that any resumption must involve formal negotiations between the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (台灣海峽兩岸觀光旅遊協會) and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits (海峽兩岸旅遊交流協會), to prevent certain operators from gaining monopolistic control over cross-strait travel.
The Taiwanese minister delivered a stark assessment of current cross-strait relations, pointing to Beijing's persistent lack of goodwill toward the democratic island. Chiu cautioned that tourism packages controlled by China's government could become vehicles for political and economic pressure tactics against Taiwan, fundamentally compromising the intended benefits of open tourism exchanges between the two sides. ★
