Taiwan considers travel warnings for citizens visiting countries with close China ties

Taiwan is considering warning citizens about risks of travelling to countries with strong ties to China, such as Laos and Cambodia, as they could be caught up in Beijing’s campaign against Taiwan independence supporters, according to a senior Taiwan official and an internal memo.

China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own despite the island’s rejection, issued guidelines last year to punish “diehard” Taiwan independence activists, including with the death penalty, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction on the island.

Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to “implement” the guidelines in countries friendly to China, according to a government memo reviewed by Reuters and a senior Taiwan security official. Both cited intelligence gathered by Taipei for that assessment.

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China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Taiwan’s foreign ministry told Reuters China had tried to use the guidelines to “shackle” Taiwan’s democracy and freedom. The ministry said it had asked its overseas offices to monitor and assess related risks and would boost public awareness on travel safety.

Taiwan security agencies have been looking at whether to raise the alert level for travel to certain countries for its citizens, the official said. Reuters was not able to establish whether any decision had been made on the alert or the countries for which that review was underway.

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Taiwanese in Cambodia, Laos and some unspecified African nations could risk being taken in for investigation on suspicion of backing independence, the official said, citing Taiwan’s assessment of the development and speaking on condition of anonymity.

“They might be taken for questioning by the local or Chinese police there, at least to psychologically intimidate them,” the official told Reuters.

The foreign ministries in Cambodia and Laos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taiwan has concluded that some countries, including some in Southeast Asia, have declined to cooperate with China’s request, the official said.

Taiwan has complained of a pattern of ramped-up pressure by China in recent years, including military actions, trade sanctions and coast guard patrols around Taiwan-controlled islands next to China.

Beijing’s guidelines issued in June instructed China’s courts, prosecutors and state security agents to “severely punish Taiwan independence diehards” for what it called “secession.”

The instruction was given during a two-day meeting on Taiwan that began February 25, the memo said, citing Taiwan’s intelligence. The meeting was led by Wang Huning, who is part of the Communist Party’s elite Politburo Standing Committee and one of President Xi Jinping’s closest advisers, the memo said.

In the meeting, Beijing’s embassies and overseas police stations in countries with “a high degree of trust” with China were asked to implement the guidelines by targeting Taiwanese tourists, students and residents, the Taiwan government memo said.

China’s government has previously denied maintaining overseas police stations but has said there are volunteer-run centres outside China that help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services.

Taiwan’s government raised its travel warning for China in June last year following the threat from Beijing, which drew condemnation from Taipei and Washington.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry currently has its second-highest “orange” travel alert for both Cambodia and Laos, telling its citizens not to go unless absolutely necessary due to scam centres which detain and traffic Chinese speakers to work in them.

China’s 20-year-old Anti-Secession Law gives the country the legal basis for military action against Taiwan if it secedes or the possibility of peaceful “reunification” is exhausted. The law is vague on what constitutes Taiwan independence.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.

Taiwan, which has its own military, passport and currency, is governed independently as the Republic of China, its official name. The Republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, who set up the People’s Republic of China.