Taipei: Taiwanese citizens who have obtained or currently hold “border tourism passports” issued by Chinese authorities for short-term travel in China’s border regions risk losing their “Taiwan status,” as stated by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

According to Focus Taiwan, MAC Deputy Head and Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh addressed the issue at a news briefing in Taipei, highlighting a 2017 case where a Taiwanese individual applied for a three-month “border tourism passport” to travel to the China-Russia border region. Although the passport’s validity had expired by the time the MAC discovered it, the act of holding such a passport was deemed a violation of the Cross-Strait Act, resulting in the loss of the individual’s “Taiwan status.”

Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, known as the Cross-Strait Act, prohibits Taiwanese citizens from holding household registrations or passports issued by the Mainland Area. Violators of this provision face the deprivation of their status as Taiwanese citizens, losing their Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) citizenship, household registration, and associated civil rights, as explained by the MAC.

This announcement marks the first time the MAC has clarified that holding or having held a “border tourism passport,” in addition to a regular Chinese passport, will lead to the loss of “Taiwan status.” The “border tourism passport,” officially termed the “People’s Republic of China Exit and Entry Permit (for border tourism use),” is a single-entry-exit permit valid for three months, issued by China’s National Immigration Administration or designated public security bureau offices for government-approved border tourism programs.

An unnamed source informed CNA that some border ports between China and Russia allow Taiwanese tourists to apply for a one-time “border tourism passport” to travel to Russia, with the application fee being significantly lower than that of a Russian visa for Taiwanese citizens. It was revealed that some Taiwanese tourists applied for this travel document in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia, last winter to visit Lake Baikal in Russia.

During the briefing, Liang did not disclose the total number of Taiwanese stripped of their “Taiwan status” due to such violations, besides the 2017 case, nor did he clarify why the “border tourism passport,” classified as an “exit and entry permit” under China’s system, is defined as a “passport issued by the Mainland Area” under the Cross-Strait Act.

Liang emphasized that holding an expired regular Chinese passport, valid for 10 years from the date of issue, does not nullify the violation of the Cross-Strait Act. From the Taiwanese government’s perspective, the expiration of a Chinese passport does not alter its status as a violation of the Act.