Taiwanese risk citizenship loss over China 'border tourism passports': MAC

Taipei, June 14 (CNA) Taiwanese who have obtained or currently hold "border tourism passports" issued by the Chinese authorities for short-term travel in China's border regions will lose their "Taiwan status," according to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC).

"In 2017, someone [referring to a Taiwanese] applied for a three-month 'border tourism passport' issued by China in order to travel to the China-Russia border region," MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei on Thursday.

"By the time we discovered it, the passport's three-month validity had already expired ... But the fact that you once held it is, from our perspective, already a violation of the law," Liang said, referring to the individual's violation of the Cross-Strait Act, which resulted in the loss of their "Taiwan status."

Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (Cross-Strait Act) stipulates that "people of the Taiwan Area may not have household registrations in the Mainland Area or hold passports issued by the Mainland Area."

Those who violate the provision "shall be deprived of its status as the people of the Taiwan Area and its rights," meaning they will lose their Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) citizenship, including household registration and associated civil rights, according to the MAC.

It was the first time the MAC pointed out that in addition to a regular Chinese passport, holding or having held a "border tourism passport" will also result in the loss of "Taiwan status."

The full name of the "border tourism passport" issued by China is the "People's Republic of China Exit and Entry Permit (for border tourism use).

With a validity of three months, the "border tourism passport" is a single-entry-exit permit issued by China's National Immigration Administration or its designated public security bureau offices to Chinese citizens participating in government-approved border tourism programs.

An unnamed source told CNA on Saturday that some border ports between China and Russia offer a service allowing Taiwanese tourists to apply for a one-time "border tourism passport" issued by Chinese authorities to travel to Russia.

As the application fee for a "border tourism passport" is significantly lower than that of a Russian visa for Taiwanese citizens, some Taiwanese tourists applied for the China-issued travel document at Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia last winter to visit Lake Baikal in Russia, the source said.

During Thursday's briefing, Liang neither provided the total number of Taiwanese who were stripped of their "Taiwan status" for such violation other than the 2017 case, nor explained why the "border tourism passport" -- officially 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.

Meanwhile, Liang said that if a Taiwanese is found to have held an expired regular Chinese passport -- which is valid for 10 years from the date of issue -- they cannot argue that its expiration nullifies the violation of the Cross-Strait Act.

From the standpoint of the Taiwanese government, whether a Chinese passport is expired or not "makes no difference" as it still constitutes a violation of the Cross-Strait Act, he added.