Taipei, Nov 1 : As many as 458 Taiwanese nationals are currently missing, detained, or otherwise restricted in their freedom of movement in China, according to Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).
Those affected include people belonging to I‑Kuan Tao (Yiguandao), one of Taiwan's most widespread redemptive traditions and a movement China has long viewed with suspicion, as per a report.
According to Taiwan's MAC, 175 Taiwanese nationals are missing, 41 have been detained for interrogation, and 242 remain held by the Chinese authorities, according to the report in Bitter Winter.
The Straits Exchange Foundation's Secretary‑General Luo Wen‑jia said four recent cases involved Taiwanese I‑Kuan Tao followers detained from April to July. The victims include long‑term residents -- teachers, businesspeople, retirees -- living in Fujian, Guangdong, and Shenzhen. The commonality between the people targeted by Chinese authorities was not due to their involvement in any alleged "illegal organisation" but it was simply their religious identity, according to the report.
Luo said that the detentions seem to be religion-driven, a shift from earlier incidents where Taiwanese believers who were on a short visit to China were detained. He urged I‑Kuan Tao followers to travel back to Taiwan and called for issuing a "red alert" travel advisory for movement members, the report said.
"The detentions of Taiwanese nationals thus represent more than isolated incidents. They reveal a cross‑border extension of China's domestic religious policy. A Taiwanese passport offers no immunity when the CCP decides that a believer's faith constitutes ideological deviance," it said.
"The MAC's rising numbers, the Straits Exchange Foundation's warnings, and the prosecutions under Article 300 all point to a tightening environment in which religious identity itself becomes grounds for suspicion. For I‑Kuan Tao followers, the risk is measurable, documented, and ongoing. In Xi's China, repression travels well," it added.
