Taipei, March 26 (IANS) Reports of Taiwanese missing, being arrested or questioned or having their personal liberties restricted in China have reached 313 since January 2024, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) revealed in a data, local media reported on Thursday.

Of the 313 cases reported since January 1, 2024, through the end of February, 114 people went missing, 25 were arrested or questioned and 174 had their personal liberties restricted, according to the MAC, Taiwan's leading daily Taipei Times reported.

Sources said the real number is estimated to be up to three times more, as many cases are not reported to the authorities.

Last month, 17 Taiwanese were reported missing or were arrested in China, with half of them still unaccounted for, an informed official said, while speaking on condition of anonymity. The official further said that the number of cases have been rising each month.

According to MAC data, 221 cases were reported in 2025, showcasing a four-fold rise from 55 in 2024.

In June 2024, China issued a 22-point set of guidelines used to punish "die-hard" Taiwanese independence separatists, enabling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to arrest or question people of Taiwan easily, Taipei Times reported.

Since then, it has become risky for people of Taiwan to visit Hong Kong, China or Macao, according to authorities.

In October last year, MAC stated that the 'freedom of movement ' of 132 Taiwanese nationals was restricted in China from January 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, with over 70 per cent of the cases tied to fraud, Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

Among those restricted, 93 were related to fraud cases, 13 involved in religious activities, one national security case, with 25 miscellaneous incidents, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh stated in a press briefing, according to Central News Agency (CNA).

During the same period, 61 Taiwanese "went missing" and 19 were taken for interrogation, raising the total number of cases involving loss of contact, questioning or restrictions on freedom of movement to 212, Liang said.

--IANS

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