TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A 19-year-old man from Changhua missing since March is being held by China’s public security, the Straits Exchange Foundation confirmed Friday.

On Jan. 2, Huang’s (黃) relatives received a notice from the Public Security Bureau in Shanxi province telling them the man had been detained, the Liberty Times reported. SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said a local elected representative alerted the police.

Relatives did not at first know whether the notice was real or a forgery, Luo said. According to the Shanxi law enforcement agency, Huang was detained on Dec. 2 due to alleged involvement in a fraud ring, per CNA.

Luo criticized China for failing to respect a long-standing agreement governing the exchange of information about the detention of each other’s citizens. The agreement took effect in 2009, but China stopped informing Taiwan’s National Police Agency in April, Luo said.

He emphasized that Taiwan respected bilateral agreements and provided the necessary assistance when Chinese visitors encountered trouble in Taiwan.