TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday did not explain what standards authorities use to question Taiwanese police and judicial officials visiting China, CNA reported.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said Saturday that a serving police officer and a retired officer were questioned for up to six hours during a June trip to Fujian. The council also said Chinese police questioned a Taiwanese judge about work duties and differences between the legal systems on each side of the Taiwan Strait during a visit to northern China.
In response, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhang Han accused Taiwan’s government of spreading false information. She said the reports were intended to create fear and obstruct cross-strait exchanges, SETN News reported.
Asked whether Taiwanese police and judicial personnel could face questioning in China and what would trigger such checks, Zhang did not explain the standards. She said law-abiding visitors had no reason to worry and noted that similar personnel had traveled to China without problems.
Zhang said visitors who followed Chinese laws had entered and left China safely. She said Taiwanese travelers made 2.85 million visits to China from January through June, up 24.9% from a year earlier.
She said the total number of cross-strait trips in both directions reached about 3.12 million, up 22.1% from a year earlier.
The Mainland Affairs Council said it would publish regular updates on Taiwanese who go missing, are detained, or face restrictions in China, and urged travelers to consider the risks of visiting.
