TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said Sunday it plans to tighten travel regulations for civil servants visiting Hong Kong and Macau.
Under proposed revisions, all civil servants would be required to notify their agencies in advance and register their trips in the personnel management system, even for private, non-official visits. The MAC cited growing Chinese influence in the two regions and increasing political infiltration efforts targeting Taiwan, per CNA.
In March, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced 17 national security and counter-infiltration strategies, one of which called for greater transparency in public officials’ interactions with China.
Lai said officials at all levels — from legislators to borough chiefs — should publicly disclose any cross-strait exchanges. He also urged the Ministry of the Interior to implement similar reporting requirements for religious and nonprofit organizations involved in China-related activities.
Following Lai’s announcement, the MAC began reviewing current regulations and emphasized the need for stronger risk management and information disclosure when dealing with individuals from the two Chinese-administered regions, according to the Liberty Times.
The council said the revisions aim to raise risk awareness and protect both national security and the safety of government personnel.
The draft rules would require civil servants to report meetings or communications with individuals from Hong Kong or Macau both before and after such interactions. Failure to comply could result in disciplinary action, Liberty Times reported.
At a legislative hearing in May, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said current rules mandate that civil servants at grade 11 and above must obtain approval from the Ministry of the Interior before traveling to China. Those at grade 10 and below are only required to follow internal leave procedures. Chiu acknowledged that enforcement of the policy has been lax.
A Control Yuan report published in May found that 318 civil servants — including 55 senior and 263 junior officials — traveled to China in violation of existing regulations over the past decade. Of those, 165 were police officers. The report concluded that additional unauthorized cases are likely.
