Taiwan's interior ministry has rolled out a new website for religious groups to register their plans for travel in China so the government can offer assistance should things go awry. The move comes after reports of Taiwanese visitors being detained and questioned by Chinese authorities.
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00:00A hostile foreign force. That's how President Lai Qingde described China in a speech on national security last month.
00:09In that same speech, Lai said he wanted to increase transparency for religious groups traveling to China for exchanges.
00:17Many temples in Taiwan share close ties with counterparts in China, and they'll often travel for religious exchanges.
00:36But religion is tightly controlled by China's ruling Communist Party.
00:40With China intent on taking control of Taiwan, Lai's government says it's concerned about the safety of these types of exchanges.
00:49建议付中国旅行的风险越来越高。113年元旦期间,陆委会接获通报之国人附中失联,招留制,盘查或关押者合计71人。
01:04未通报之数字可能数倍于此。
01:08Just over a month on from Lai's speech, the Interior Ministry now has a system in place.
01:15Religious and civic groups can register their travel plans to China on its website.
01:21Participation is voluntary for the public, and its creators say users only need to provide the bare minimum of information.
01:28所以我们这个登陆专区最主要的目的就是提供,不管是宗教,人民团体或者是公职人员,如果你有留下这些登陆的资讯的话,我们就登陆,然后必要性地给予揭露,并不涉及各自的部分。
01:41Around 20 groups have already registered on the website since its launch, but the reception has been mixed.
01:49一般的话就是我们会委托旅行社来办理嘛。
01:53旅行社办理的话,在过程来说,它就是会合乎政府的一个所需去承办嘛。
01:59我们是很单纯,宗教的交流而已。
02:02每个宗庙,每个人的声音又不一样,每个人的想法又不一样。
02:05到时候会真的很乱,让它很自然地交流,感觉这样是最好的啦。
02:10Currently, only heads of local government have to register their China travel plans with the government,
02:17but the ministry says it's encouraging all elected officials to do so.
02:22With this new system, worshippers and civic groups can choose whether to let the government
02:26know about their movements in China, but whether it can help protect Taiwanese across the strait
02:32remains to be seen.
02:33李心春, and Lesley Liao for Taiwan Plus.