MAC responds to mainland Chinese e-travel passes

2015/09/23

All measures concerning cross-strait people-to-people exchanges should be communicated through institutionalized mechanisms so as to minimize unnecessary concern, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia said Sept. 21.

Beijing’s implementation of e-travel passes for ROC nationals in place of paper-based ones “reflects a lack of comprehensive thinking and complementary measures, showing no respect for Taiwan while hurting the feelings of the people,” Hsia said.

“We have repeatedly voiced our discontent to our mainland Chinese counterparts on this issue and will keep a close eye on related developments.”

According to the MAC, Beijing advised of the measure before making an official announcement in June. Although the two sides subsequently engaged in several rounds of communications, the implementation date was left unconfirmed.

Earlier this month, mainland China said the change would take effect Sept. 21. While the move was initially intended to provide more convenience for ROC nationals on the other side of the strait for business or education purposes, it now applies to all of the country’s citizens. This has triggered concerns over the risk of large-scale privacy breaches.

Sources familiar with the matter view the e-travel passes as similar to IC cards issued by Beijing to the residents of Hong Kong and Macau. This prompted claims that the measure is designed to downgrade Taiwan’s status to that of the two special administrative regions.

Hsia said despite the unilateral decision by Beijing, the government will not change its approach to cross-strait relations under the framework of the ROC Constitution, or its policy of maintaining the status quo in line with the wishes of the majority of the people in Taiwan.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=236926&ctNode=2194&mp=9)