Taipei, March 26. Reports of Taiwanese citizens going missing, being arrested or questioned, or having their personal freedoms restricted in China have reached 313 since January 2024, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) revealed in a report, according to local media on Thursday.
Of the 313 cases reported from January 1, 2024, to the end of February, 114 people went missing, 25 were arrested or questioned, and 174 had their personal freedoms restricted, according to the MAC, as reported by Taipei Times, Taiwan's leading daily.
Sources said the actual number is estimated to be up to three times higher, as many cases are not reported to the authorities.
Last month, 17 Taiwanese were reported missing or arrested in China, with half of them still unaccounted for, according to an anonymous official. The official further stated that the number of cases has been increasing each month.
According to MAC data, 221 cases were reported in 2025, representing a four-fold increase from 55 in 2024.
In June 2024, China issued a 22-point guideline to punish "die-hard" Taiwanese independence separatists, allowing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to easily arrest or question people from Taiwan, as reported by Taipei Times.
Since then, it has become risky for Taiwanese people to visit Hong Kong or Macao, according to authorities.
In October last year, the MAC stated that the "freedom of movement" of 132 Taiwanese nationals was restricted in China from January 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, with over 70% of the cases related to fraud, as reported by Central News Agency (CNA).
Among those restricted, 93 were related to fraud cases, 13 were involved in religious activities, and one was a case related to national security, with 25 other miscellaneous incidents, according to Liang Wen-chieh, Deputy Minister and spokesman of the MAC, as reported by Central News Agency (CNA).
During the same period, 61 Taiwanese "went missing," and 19 were taken for interrogation, raising the total number of cases involving loss of contact, questioning, or restrictions on freedom of movement to 212, Liang said.
Of the 313 cases reported from January 1, 2024, to the end of February, 114 people went missing, 25 were arrested or questioned, and 174 had their personal freedoms restricted, according to the MAC, as reported by Taipei Times, Taiwan's leading daily.
Sources said the actual number is estimated to be up to three times higher, as many cases are not reported to the authorities.
Last month, 17 Taiwanese were reported missing or arrested in China, with half of them still unaccounted for, according to an anonymous official. The official further stated that the number of cases has been increasing each month.
According to MAC data, 221 cases were reported in 2025, representing a four-fold increase from 55 in 2024.
In June 2024, China issued a 22-point guideline to punish "die-hard" Taiwanese independence separatists, allowing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to easily arrest or question people from Taiwan, as reported by Taipei Times.
Since then, it has become risky for Taiwanese people to visit Hong Kong or Macao, according to authorities.
In October last year, the MAC stated that the "freedom of movement" of 132 Taiwanese nationals was restricted in China from January 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025, with over 70% of the cases related to fraud, as reported by Central News Agency (CNA).
Among those restricted, 93 were related to fraud cases, 13 were involved in religious activities, and one was a case related to national security, with 25 other miscellaneous incidents, according to Liang Wen-chieh, Deputy Minister and spokesman of the MAC, as reported by Central News Agency (CNA).
During the same period, 61 Taiwanese "went missing," and 19 were taken for interrogation, raising the total number of cases involving loss of contact, questioning, or restrictions on freedom of movement to 212, Liang said.