Taiwanese Visiting China Could Face Arrest Over Sensitive Tech Work: Report

People from Taiwan travelling to China could be arrested for engaging in sensitive technology or working in a company deemed "hostile" under Beijing's new border rules, local media reported on Tuesday, citing a national security source. China is scheduled to enforce revised entry and exit rules in September that, along with the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law and proposed changes to the Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services, would give more powers to Chinese authorities, Taiwan's Taipei Times reported, citing a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

People could be arrested for engaging in sensitive technology or working in a firm considered "hostile", according to the source. Under rules issued by China's State Council, Chinese nationals, including Taiwanese nationals under Beijing's nationality law, who engage in illegal or criminal activities overseas that threaten national security or national interests could be barred from leaving China for six months to three years after entering the country.

According to the rules, Chinese nationals who breach import-export rules that could pose a threat to national industrial or technological security could be prohibited from leaving China. The source said that if Chinese authorities believe that a Taiwanese citizen in China has engaged in or has been stealing technology, industrial, scientific, or military information, or is working in a "hostile" company, the person could be unable to travel back home, or, if they are residing in other nations, their family members in China could be arrested to force them to come there. The source further said that local governments in border areas have been given authority to impose exit restrictions, sparking personal safety risks.

According to the source, the new rules create risks for the technology supply chain as engineers working in semiconductor suppliers or IC design companies who visit China for work could face movement restrictions or mandatory inspections if their devices have information regarding new manufacturing processes or technology development. The source said that many companies have already shared internal security guidelines which require employees visiting China to have dedicated "clean" phones and laptops, while barring them from taking routine work or personal devices. According to the source, China is also making changes to the Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services to regulate online speech and behaviour, Taipei Times reported.

Earlier in July, over 50 Uyghur civil society organisations strongly condemned China's Law on the Promotion of Ethnic Unity and Progress (Ethnic Unity Law) and urged the international community to take meaningful action to repeal the legislation. According to a joint statement, the law, which entered into force on July 1, 2026, is not a "technical administrative measure" but a "legislative instrument of forced assimilation".

It noted that the legislation explicitly conflates the Chinese nation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and demands that ethnic groups abandon their distinct identities in favour of loyalty to the Party, the Han-defined "motherland", and "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics". Under this framework, the organisations said, the Uyghur, Tibetan, Mongolian, and other non-Han identities are permitted to exist only insofar as they are absorbed into a single, CCP-defined Chinese nation. The organisations expressed grave concerns over certain provisions in the law which stipulate that individuals and organisations outside mainland China who "undermine ethnic unity and progress" could be held legally responsible under Chinese law.

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