Taiwan’s government raised the travel alert for Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” level and advised people to avoid non-essential travelling. The Council claimed that because the Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have continued to amend or issue legal documents relating to national security in recent years, there are reported cases in which Taiwanese travelling to mainland China have been subjected to unlawful detention, retention and interrogation, as the Straits Exchange Foundation deputy secretary general Tsai Meng-chun suggested.

One week ago, China published new judicial guidelines to introduce the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving supporters of Taiwanese independence, which included severe punishments for activities deemed as fragmenting the country or inciting secession. According to the Council, this poses a serious threat to the personal safety of Taiwanese travelling to mainland areas. Hence, it strongly recommended that Taiwan people should not enter China mainland, Hong Kong and Macau unless it is necessary, and should avoid discussing sensitive issues, photographing military sites, or carrying books on politics, history and religion.