The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of China (Taiwan) announced a draft amendment to adjust the application reasons for specific identity public officials visiting the Chinese mainland from “within the fourth degree of kinship” to “within the third degree of kinship.” The Mainland Affairs Council stated that some public officials were found to abuse the excuse of “visiting relatives up to the fourth degree of kinship,” leading to the amendment after discussion, which is more in line with the societal perception in Taiwan.
The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of China (Taiwan) announced the amendment to the “Regulations Governing Entry of Public Officials and Specific Identified Individuals from Taiwan to the Chinese Mainland,” intending to modify the application reasons for specific identity public officials to the mainland for “visiting relatives, visiting the sick, or attending family funerals” from “within the fourth degree of kinship (cousins)” to “within the third degree of kinship.”
The amendment draft pointed out that due to the aggressive recruitment of Taiwanese public officials by the Chinese Communist Party in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau in recent years, combined with the continuous accumulation of cases of illegal arrests, detention, and interrogation, the personal safety risks of Taiwanese public officials traveling to the mainland and Hong Kong, Macau are increasingly rising. To adapt to the strengthened policy on the management of public officials’ visits to China, the amendment draft was proposed.
Vice Chairperson and Spokesperson of the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China, Liang Wenjie, stated during a routine press conference on the 11th that this regulation has been in effect for many years, and there were regulations for Taiwanese public officials entering mainland China. One of the regulations was that if you have fourth-degree relatives in China, you could visit them.
Liang Wenjie mentioned that when cross-strait exchanges were just beginning, many public officials had migrated from mainland China, and they had many relatives and friends living in China, hence there were many individuals with fourth-degree relatives.
Liang Wenjie explained that the fourth-degree relatives include cousins, but over the years, it was discovered that some public officials were abusing the visitation rights under the guise of visiting fourth-degree relatives to the mainland. For instance, it is not socially acceptable for a regulated public servant to apply to visit a cousin, “This is not something that society can easily accept,” so the category was changed from fourth-degree to third-degree relatives.
Liang Wenjie stated that third-degree relatives refer to uncles, aunts, and these matters have undergone much discussion, leading to the decision to adjust the regulations from “within the fourth degree of kinship” to “within the third degree of kinship,” believing it is more in line with the general societal perception.
Moreover, the Cross-Strait Four Places Police Studies Seminar was previously held in Ningbo, Zhejiang, but Taiwan temporarily withdrew and did not send officials to attend. Liang Wenjie clarified that this was due to unacceptable conditions set by the other party, which belittled Taiwan, leading the government’s decision not to send officials to the event.
The latest survey results released by the Mainland Affairs Council on the 11th show that 54% of the public support President Lai Ching-te’s proposal to allocate NT$1.25 trillion (approximately $40 billion USD) in the next 8 years to establish a comprehensive defense system like the “Taiwan Shield.” 82.6% of respondents do not support the Chinese Communist Party’s “One Country, Two Systems” proposal; 73.1% of the public do not agree with Taiwan’s participation in APEC under the name “Chinese Taipei.”