Taiwan investigates exchange programmes ‘used for illegal visits by mainland Chinese government officials’
- Shell companies and non-profit groups were set up to invite mainlanders for exchange visits and avoid proper screening, prosecutors say
- Some who visited were allegedly officials from government and the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department
At least 20 Taiwanese travel agencies have been found to have arranged “exchange visits” to the island by more than 5,000 mainland citizens between 2017 and 2019, using invitation letters issued by a number of shell companies or organisations registered in Taiwan, prosecutors and government officials said on Thursday.
They said a number of the citizens found to have applied to visit under the so-called exchange programmes were officials from the mainland Chinese government and the United Front Work Department – the agency of the Communist Party responsible for promoting its influence around the world.
“We questioned 10 people on Wednesday night, including the operation leader and three travel agents over their roles in the alleged operations,” Chen Yu-ping, a spokeswoman for Taipei District Prosecutors Office, said.
She said the 10 were released after questioning, with seven asked to post bail, pending further questioning.