[Cross-Strait] Hong Pu-chao Column: China's New Exit-Entry Regulations and the Preventive Governance Behind Them
RtiTalk 小編17d ago
China recently announced the "Regulations of the State Council on Exit-Entry Administration," scheduled to take effect in mid-September. The entire regulation establishes a management system for cross-border activities, incorporating the flow of talent, technology, information, and interpersonal networks into national security management. Exit is just one aspect of cross-border activities; personnel contact, technical cooperation, data exchange, and social connections involved in cross-border exchanges have all entered the scope of China's administrative management.
China's Governance Focuses on Intervention Before Risk Formation
The Communist Party of China believes that "a single spark can start a prairie fire" and emphasizes risk prevention in governance, with administrative intervention occurring before risks materialize. This mindset permeates various policy areas. Education shapes political identity through ideological and national security education; youth work is centrally coordinated with local cooperation, linking policies on exchanges, internships, employment, and entrepreneurship; ethnic policies promote the consciousness of a Chinese national community through legal systems; and technology policies incorporate talent, technology, data, and supply chain security into the national security framework. Exit-entry administration follows the same governance model, bringing cross-border activities under preventive governance.
Control Stems from Fear of Losing Grip
This governance mindset is embedded in the new regulations. Article 3 requires verification of exit reasons and provision of documents, data, and electronic data when necessary; Article 4 lists national security, industrial security, and technological security as grounds for exit restrictions; Articles 7 onwards bring intermediary services such as study abroad, immigration, and visas under management; and Article 15 requires competent authorities to establish collaborative mechanisms. These provisions work in concert, providing corresponding legal bases for individuals, intermediary services, administrative procedures, and competent authorities.
China's control over cross-border activities stems from a fear of losing its grip. Talent exchanges establish new cooperative relationships, technical cooperation drives the flow of knowledge and experience, data exchange increases information outflow, and interpersonal interactions form social connections that are difficult for the authorities to control. For the Communist Party of China, any connection that deviates from control can accumulate into political risk. The new exit-entry regulations bring personnel, technology, data, and intermediary services under management, with administrative power preemptively entering cross-border activities.
Exchanges to China Face New Institutional Risks
For Taiwan, exchanges with China now face a new institutional environment. Study, work, investment, technological cooperation, and academic exchanges all involve the administrative authority of different Chinese government agencies. Exchange activities introduce many institutional risks that cannot be predicted in advance. The scope of administrative discretion has expanded, and many regulations lack clear boundaries, making it difficult for outsiders to anticipate which exchange activities will trigger intervention by competent authorities or which administrative measures will apply. Risk assessments for exchanges to China must consider the operational dynamics of China's system.
Government Respects People's Choices but Has an Obligation to Disclose Risks
The government should promptly establish a comprehensive risk warning mechanism for exchanges with China. The Executive Yuan should coordinate with the Mainland Affairs Council, Straits Exchange Foundation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economic Affairs, National Science and Technology Council, and other relevant ministries to regularly compile China's latest regulations, administrative measures, and enforcement cases. Specific risk alerts should be provided based on different types of exchanges, such as for students, teachers, businesses, technology professionals, and the general public.
Government websites and press releases are just the starting point for information dissemination. It is also necessary to reach the public with risk information through news media, social platforms, campuses, industry associations, and local outreach activities. Democratic countries respect people's choices about whether to engage in exchanges with China; the government does not have the power to decide for the people, but it has a responsibility to disclose risks and fulfill its duty to inform. Whether people listen or go is their own decision. If the country does not clearly articulate the risks, that is a responsibility the government must bear. (Editor: Chen Wen-wei)
Further Reading:
China Introduces New Exit-Entry Regulations; Chiu Chui-cheng: Existing Strict Controls Are Being Codified
China's New Exit-Entry Management Regulations Take Effect in September; Taiwanese Citizens Face High Risk of Becoming Political Hostages
The Technological Prison Has Arrived! China's New Exit-Entry Regulations Take Effect September 15; Those Involved in Regulated Technology Will Find It Difficult to Leave the Country
Author: Hong Pu-chao, Full-time University Teacher, Deputy Executive Director of the Center for Cross-Strait Continental and Regional Development Studies, Tunghai University
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=224520
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