The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that this week it has recorded 10 new cases of Taiwanese nationals going missing while traveling in China, and that the individuals are currently being sought through various channels. That came during MAC’s regular press conference on Thursday, July 9.

MAC Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said that among the new missing cases, four people were part of a single group, one person had traveled to visit family, one had gone in search of a job, while the remaining four traveled to China for unknown reasons. He reminded the public to be mindful of the safety risks associated with visiting China. The government has already raised the travel advisory for Hong Kong and Macau to orange.

Liang also highlighted a recent case of a Taiwanese district court judge being approached and questioned by public security officers at the hotel where he was staying in northern China. The officers had reportedly been aware of the judge’s identity beforehand, and the questioning was aimed at verifying their information.

Liang said that from 2024 through the end of June this year, 30 Taiwanese nationals have been detained and questioned by Chinese authorities while in China, 14 of whom were civil servants. Chinese state security personnel have checked the civil servants’ mobile phones and invited them to add WeChat contacts for future communication. Liang reminded civil servants not to assume they face no risks in China simply because they have no access to state secrets.