The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), on Sunday, August 30, called on Taiwanese nationals considered “high-risk” to carefully assess the necessity of traveling to China. This came a day after a social media user claimed in a post that their son was subjected to a six-hour high-pressure interrogation in Shanghai.

A user of the social media platform Threads posted on August 29, claiming that their son had arrived in Shanghai on a business trip that day. He was then stopped at customs and taken to a private room for questioning. Three plainclothes officers questioned the individual about his prior part-time work for the human rights organization Amnesty International.

According to the post, the Taiwanese national was asked to unlock his phone and allow inspection of his chat history and work files saved on the device. He was reportedly asked about his role in the organization, involvement in drafting reports on China, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Tibet, the organization’s funding sources, contact with political figures and human rights workers, and the true purpose of his visit to China.

The individual reportedly emphasized that he was not a decision-maker or core advocate within the organization, that he had already left the position, and that his trip had no political intent. He ultimately chose to forgo entry and returned to Taoyuan International Airport that same night.

MAC said in response to Central News Agency’s queries on Sunday that the incident had not been reported to the government, but the experience described in the post is consistent with cases MAC has previously documented. It said that the government encourages the public to speak out and share such experiences, so that others can benefit from this information.

MAC said that China will implement new exit and entry rules on September 15, which will significantly increase the personal safety risk for Taiwanese nationals traveling there. The government calls on Taiwanese nationals considered “high-risk” to carefully assess the necessity of traveling to China and to register through a dedicated system ahead of time, so that Taiwanese authorities can provide assistance in the event of an emergency.