Taipei, March. 8 (CNA) Two Taiwanese Unification Church followers have been arrested in China and are unable to return to Taiwan as of Friday, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said.
Following the arrest, the SEF received a request for assistance from a family member of the two arrested individuals, said SEF Deputy Secretary-General Li Pao-wen (黎寶文) at a news briefing Friday afternoon.
Li, however, did not provide information on the identity of the individuals, when and why they were arrested, or when the request was received.
Li’s statement came after a Feb. 28 report by Radio Taiwan International (Rti) quoted a statement sent by a Taiwanese man, Chang Tung-che (張棟澈), saying that his parents, both Taiwanese nationals, were detained on Jan. 12 by the public security authorities in the Chinese city of Xiamen for proselytizing.
Chang’s father, Chang Pi-hsien (張丕賢) has been released on bail, while his mother, Lu Chia-chen (呂嘉珍), remains in detention, according to the Rti report.
Li said that the SEF, a semi-official organization tasked by Taiwan’s government with handling technical matters involving China, had sent an official inquiry regarding the incident to its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).
The SEF had also notified other government agencies in Taiwan about the arrest, including the Ministry of Justice and the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Li said.
Engaging in “general religious exchange” may not be an issue for Taiwanese in China, Li said.
“But if Chinese authorities perceive it as a ‘proselytizing activity,’ it could become more serious and pose greater risks,” he noted.
According to The Korea Herald, the Unification Church, founded in 1954 in Seoul by the late Rev. Moon Sun-myung, envisions creating “one world under the sky” that extends the boundaries of race and nationality, with some estimates suggesting it has over 3 million followers worldwide.
Prior to the SEF’s confirmation of the arrest of two Unification Church followers, three Taiwanese members of the I-Kuan Tao religious group were also arrested in China in October last year on suspicion of “organizing and practicing as members of a cult that undermines law enforcement.”
The three I-Kuan Tao members remain jailed, despite Taiwanese authorities urging the Chinese side to facilitate their release over the past few months.
