Taipei [Taiwan], September 20 : The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) has formally reached out to China for details regarding a 22-year-old man who disappeared shortly after arriving in Shanghai last month, Taiwan News reported.
Relatives of Kuo Yu-hsuan said that he had communicated with them upon his safe arrival in the Chinese city on August 27, 2024. However, they have not heard from him ever since that time. Kuo had intended to travel onward to Hefei, located in the Anhui province, according to a reports from Taiwan News.
With all attempts to reach him proving unsuccessful, Kuo's family resorted to posting missing person notices online and formally reported him missing to the authorities. His sister expressed their deep concerns, fearing he might have been coerced into labour by a fraud ring or could have been abducted.
In response to the situation, the SEF has informed its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), about Kuo's case but has yet to receive any response from them Taiwan News reported.
After a photograph of the missing individual, dressed in a school uniform, was circulated, Chung Shan Industrial and Commercial School in Kaohsiung confirmed that Kuo was indeed a former student who graduated approximately four years ago.
Kuo's disappearance comes after prior reports of another incident involving a Formosa Plastics Group executive who also failed to return home from China.
The Mainland Affairs Council has previously cautioned Taiwanese travellers to exercise caution regarding their behaviour and statements while visiting China, reported Taiwan News.
In June, Chinese authorities released "22 Guidelines," which threatened severe penalties, including the death penalty, against those they identified as active supporters of Taiwan independence. Taiwan condemned these threats as vague, excessive, and arbitrary, putting anyone targeted by China at significant risk.
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