TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Legislators should apply for permission before being allowed to travel to China, the Cabinet decided Friday.

At present, information about elected representatives visiting China and meeting with personalities there is not transparent, the government proposal reportedly said. It added that effective regulations barring lawmakers who had access to confidential information in Taiwan about national security and national interests from contacting China were incomplete, per UDN.

Amending the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area is necessary to prevent Chinese infiltration, according to the Mainland Affairs Council. The new regulations will also cover mayors and county commissioners within three years of leaving office.

Meetings between elected representatives and Chinese party, government, and military officials should be made known, according to the government proposal. Another clause bars former officials from traveling to China to take part in official events disrespectful to Taiwan’s national status.

Out of 620,000 civil servants, military personnel, and teachers, 28,000 or 4% would fall under the restrictions on China travel, the Mainland Affairs Council said. Looking at the period from January through October this year, 233 applied to visit China, with 32 being refused, or 86.3% being approved.

The council emphasized that the new rules are not designed to ban people from traveling to China, but are a form of risk management to protect national security. The measures would not affect ordinary citizens while they would make rules clearer for officials by relatively simple legal amendments. 

The proposed changes need to be reviewed and approved by the Legislative Yuan.