Agency warns of Chinese scams targeting Taiwanese youth

Taiwanese youths traveling to China for work or exchange programs face growing risks, Straits Exchange Foundation Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia warned. He said both job scams and employment opportunities linked to Beijing’s “united front” efforts could carry serious dangers.

Luo said Beijing has expanded influence campaigns aimed at Taiwanese youths through tourism, cultural exchanges and economic incentives. Chinese organizers may insert united front activities into tours or programs, he said, with the goal of indoctrinating participants. Other campaigns allegedly attract young people with employment promises that are likely to be false.

Luo pointed to China’s reported 17.9 percent urban youth unemployment rate in July as one reason to question such offers. Taiwanese youths who travel to China seeking work can end up jobless and without housing, he said. Organized crime groups posing as legitimate companies may promise lucrative short-term jobs, then disappear after victims arrive. He said some groups use agents carrying Hong Kong or Macao documents, shell companies and even family relationships to reach potential victims.

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The dangers for Taiwanese in China are on the rise, and the government has a responsibility to tell the people that we should not take these risks lightly.

Luo also warned that China’s newer national security laws could be used to detain Taiwanese visitors over social media comments or employment at an entity accused of violating Chinese technology-export controls. He said about 160 Taiwanese had disappeared and more than 200 had been detained or imprisoned in China.

The SEF and Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council recorded 588 requests for help in 2023 involving Taiwanese visitors who disappeared or faced danger in China. That number rose to 1,027 last year. From Jan. 1, 2024, through the previous Thursday, their data showed that 462 Taiwanese had gone missing in China, including 160 who disappeared without a trace. “The dangers for Taiwanese in China are on the rise, and the government has a responsibility to tell the people that we should not take these risks lightly,” Luo said. “We should not think that just because the vast majority of tourists in China were safe, we, too, would be safe.”

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We should not think that just because the vast majority of tourists in China were safe, we, too, would be safe.