Taiwan religious figure arrested in China..."Concerns over suspension of cross-strait religious exchanges"

Taiwanese media, including the Free Times, reported that religious exchanges between the two sides could be interrupted in the future as Chinese authorities arrested Taiwanese religious figures.

The Taiwan Affairs Office, the Chinese government's Taiwan affairs agency, recently announced that it had arrested three Taiwanese religious believers for violating the criminal law.

Local media said China's Guangdong provincial public security agency arrested three Taiwanese in October and the courtroom accused them last week of violating Article 300 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for violating the law through a social organization.

The source predicted that one man and two women arrested are elderly people in their 70s and 80s, but it will be difficult to escape criminal punishment.

A Taiwanese official claimed that those arrested were visiting China for the promotion of traditional Chinese culture and lectures by the Five Views of China and that they were not involved in political activities.

He also called for their early release and expressed concern that the incident would have a serious negative impact on religious exchanges and the tourism industry on both sides.