China's United Front Work Toward Taiwan Sees 'Professionalization' Chaos; Some Regions Begin Crackdown

TAIPEI (Central News Agency, June 10) According to a report by the WeChat public account 'Another Perspective,' China's united front work focusing on 'first-time visitors' and grassroots Taiwanese youth is being exploited as a profit-making tool by some individuals with ulterior motives. Various 'professionalization' malpractices are occurring frequently. Original exchange activities have been monopolized by certain 'insider circles,' and the behavior of some 'professional group leaders' is becoming increasingly extreme. At least Jingmen and Yichang cities in Hubei Province have begun to address this issue.

The article points out that in recent years, China's work towards Taiwan has entered a 'precision' development stage, investing significant resources to focus on 'first-time visitors' and grassroots Taiwanese youth. The goal is to enable 'Taiwanese compatriots who truly need and desire it' to visit the mainland and personally experience its development achievements and warmth. However, this 'path of exchange, carrying goodwill and expectations,' has been distorted by some into a tool for personal profit. Various professionalized malpractices are rampant, not only wasting policy resources but also damaging cross-strait mutual trust.

One problem is the 'professionalization' of participants. Exchange resources are monopolized by 'insider circles' over the long term. Some heads of Taiwanese associations and retired individuals, leveraging information asymmetry, treat various mainland exchange activities as 'free travel,' traveling between provinces and cities year-round. They use fake lists to maliciously reserve spots, only to cancel at the last minute. This wastes mainland financial resources and blocks grassroots people and new faces who genuinely want to visit the mainland.

A second problem is the 'brokerization' of recruitment methods. The original public welfare nature is being eroded by commercial interests. Public welfare exchange activities fully funded by the mainland are being packaged as 'commercial trips' by some 'professional exchange group leaders.' They charge Taiwanese youth arbitrary registration and service fees, induce registration by fabricating itineraries and exaggerating benefits, and then shirk responsibility and refuse refunds if the trip cannot proceed.

More egregiously, the behavior of some 'professional group leaders' is becoming increasingly extreme and reckless. When rejected for not meeting participation criteria, they maliciously alter official registration contact information, spread rumors like 'the event is full' or 'only for the privileged,' disrupting normal recruitment order. Without a clear event theme or target audience, they use fictitious lists to pressure multiple parties, bypassing the organizers to directly contact local Taiwan Affairs Offices to demand quotas, increasing administrative coordination costs.

The actions of these 'professional group leaders' have turned the mainland's goal of building bridges into a tool for personal profit. Furthermore, the misalignment of some local Taiwan Affairs Offices regarding the positioning of exchange activities has objectively contributed to the spread of these malpractices.

According to the report, in response to these various malpractices, some mainland exchange bases have taken the lead in exploring effective governance paths. For example, Jingmen and Yichang have established electronic files for exchange participants, placing those who frequently participate, maliciously reserve spots, or engage in fraud and profiteering on a 'blacklist' for cross-regional joint exclusion. Secondly, they have implemented a 'five-level tier' invitation review system, prioritizing quotas for key groups such as 'first-time visitors' and grassroots Taiwanese youth to ensure resources are used effectively.

Furthermore, the mainland is promoting a 'direct reporting and direct review' model, bypassing intermediaries to directly connect with Taiwanese 'patriotic groups' and school clubs, completely severing the chain of interests. They are also strictly investigating illegal fee collection, clarifying the public welfare nature of exchange activities. A post-activity feedback mechanism has been established, using online questionnaires to collect participants' real experiences to continuously optimize itineraries and services. (Editors: Zhu Jianling / Qiu Guoqiang) 1150610