Tsai Chin-shu, imprisoned in China, returns to Taiwan — Taipei Times
Taiwanese national Tsai Chin-shu, who was imprisoned in China over activities that authorities there described as “endangering national security,” announced his return to Taiwan on Facebook. Tsai heads the Southern Taiwan Association for Cross-Strait Relations, Taipei Times reports.
Disappearance in 2018
For many years, Tsai frequently traveled between Taiwan and China and once ran a trading company in Pingtan, China. In July 2018, he traveled to Quanzhou City in Fujian Province for a cross-strait food trade fair, after which he stayed at a hotel in Xiamen.
He disappeared the day after leaving the hotel. His family repeatedly contacted the Chinese authorities and sought assistance from the Straits Exchange Foundation. It was only in September 2019 that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed that Tsai was under investigation on suspicion of activities allegedly endangering national security.
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Sentence and travel restrictions
In October 2020, China’s state television broadcaster CCTV aired a report on the case of a “Taiwanese spy,” in which Tsai appeared on screen and said he regretted being used by Taiwanese military intelligence to gather information in China.
Tsai was sentenced to four years in prison. After completing his sentence in May 2023, he was barred from leaving China for four years as an additional penalty of deprivation of political rights. He was placed under house arrest on Gulangyu Island in Xiamen.
Sources familiar with cross-strait relations said that, given the four-year additional term, the travel restriction should have been in effect from May 2023. At the same time, Tsai’s return to Taiwan may indicate that he was allowed to leave China early. The Mainland Affairs Council said it was aware of the circumstances of the case but declined further comment, citing the individual’s privacy.
