Exit ban for Taiwanese executive reminder of risks of traveling, doing business in China

Taipei, Taiwan — 

Taiwan authorities' confirmation that a elder enforcement from a large Taiwanese concern radical has been banned from leaving China is raising concerns astir the risks of traveling and doing concern there, analysts say.

The lawsuit comes amid heightened tensions betwixt Beijing and Taipei and arsenic a fig of foreigners person been refused support to permission China.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, oregon MAC, which is successful complaint of relations with China, confirmed Wednesday that an unidentified elder enforcement from Formosa Plastics Group was interrogated by section authorities aft landing successful the Chinese commercialized superior Shanghai from Taipei connected September 1.

The MAC initially declined to stock immoderate details owed to idiosyncratic information reasons. But precocious Thursday, the assembly said the exit prohibition imposed connected the Taiwanese enforcement is apt the effect of a transgression discourtesy alternatively than a governmental oregon nationalist information case.

On Thursday, the Formosa Plastic Group said they were trying to stitchery much accusation astir the lawsuit and that the elder enforcement is “safe, escaped to determination around, and cooperating with the Chinese authorities’ investigation.”

“We volition proceed to travel his lawsuit and supply the indispensable assistance,” the institution said successful a statement.

Political pressure

Analysts accidental that portion details are inactive forthcoming, the lawsuit does look akin to different instances wherever Beijing has utilized governmental means to unit Taiwanese oregon overseas businesses.

“This lawsuit reminds maine of the Chinese government’s taxation probe into Taiwanese tech elephantine Foxconn past October, which coincided with the company’s laminitis Terry Gou’s bid to tally successful Taiwan’s statesmanlike election,” said Chen Fang-yu, a governmental idiosyncratic astatine Soochow University successful Taiwan.

At the time, Taiwan’s erstwhile nationalist information main Wellington Koo said determination was a “political aspect” successful Beijing’s taxation probe against Foxconn. Gou yet dropped out of the presidential predetermination past November.

Chen told VOA that it remains unclear what the Chinese authorities mightiness beryllium seeking successful this lawsuit since nary much details person been provided by authorities connected either side.

“However, it’s wide that different Taiwanese oregon overseas companies person faced akin situations before,” helium said.

Other experts accidental the lawsuit could person a chilling effect wrong Taiwan’s concern assemblage and exacerbate Taiwanese businesses’ exodus from China.

“While immoderate Taiwanese businesses person started to trim the standard of their operations successful China respective years ago, this lawsuit volition propulsion much companies to exit the Chinese marketplace arsenic a mode to support their interests,” Wang Kuo-chen, an economist astatine the Chung-Hua Institute for Economic Research, told VOA by phone.

‘Taiwan independency forces’ crackdown

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old Taiwanese antheral surnamed Kuo went missing successful China aft arriving successful Shanghai connected August 27, prompting his household to question assistance from the Taiwanese government.

During Thursday’s regular briefing, the Mainland Affairs Council’s spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh said Kuo had been traveling successful China with friends. Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation has besides contacted its Chinese counterparts to question much accusation astir Kuo’s whereabouts.

On September 6, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which manages cross-strait exchanges, said a tribunal successful China’s eastbound metropolis of Wenzhou had sentenced Taiwanese governmental activistic Yang Chih-yuan to 9 years successful jailhouse nether secession charges.

In June, Beijing introduced 22 caller guidelines to punish what they called “die-hard Taiwan independency activists” and the maximum punishment is the decease sentence.

Wu Se-chih, an adjunct prof astatine the Taipei University of Marine Technology, told VOA that these developments bespeak Beijing’s enhanced absorption connected nationalist information and that the strict measures are apt to person a ripple effect.

“The much stringent inspection of the contented connected Taiwanese people’s physics devices astatine Chinese airports, the sentencing of Yang nether secession charges, and the disappearance of Kuo volition origin much Taiwanese radical to re-evaluate the imaginable risks they mightiness look erstwhile traveling to China,” Wu told VOA successful a telephone interview.

Asked astir the caller developments, Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy successful Washington, said, “China is simply a state ruled by instrumentality and liberty is respected and protected successful the country.”

Exit bans

In summation to Taiwanese people, overseas nationals from different countries person besides faced trouble leaving China.

According to the Duihua Foundation successful California, which focuses connected freeing detainees done dialog with China, astir 200 Americans are held nether coercive measures successful the country, and much than 30 Americans are banned from leaving the country.

At slightest 17 Japanese citizens person been detained connected spying charges since China enacted its anti-espionage instrumentality successful 2015 and astatine slightest 5 of them remain successful Chinese detention arsenic of November 2023.

John Kamm, the enforcement manager of the Duihua Foundation, told VOA that Beijing has intensified the usage of coercive measures against overseas nationals since Chinese President Xi Jinping came to powerfulness successful 2012.

In his view, the increasing fig of foreigners detained nether espionage charges has led to a driblet successful the fig of tourists and foreigners traveling to China.

“China’s usage of coercive measures and the imposition of exit bans connected overseas nationals has damaged China’s representation and that feeds into the driblet successful overseas nonstop concern and the driblet successful tourer arrivals successful the country,” Kamm said successful a telephone interview.

Despite Beijing’s efforts to pull much overseas investment, Wu successful Taiwan said it’s improbable that the Chinese authorities volition easiness up its efforts to safeguard nationalist security, which helium said remains a precedence for the Chinese Communist Party.

“Beijing inactive prioritizes authorities implicit economy, truthful astatine a clip erstwhile their economical policies haven’t proved to beryllium effective, I expect the Chinese authorities to support doubling down connected the value of safeguarding nationalist security,” helium told VOA.