Taiwan is forcing travel agencies to register group trips to China with the government before departure, and the industry is angry about it — but the ruling party says the goal is safety, not surveillance.

• Tour operators must now log group details in a government system before taking travelers to China, Hong Kong, or Macau, or face fines.
• Travel companies see it as monitoring; the DPP legislative caucus says it is about knowing who is where if something goes wrong.
• The trigger is China's new rules for Taiwanese visitors starting this month, which Taipei says raise the risk for travelers.
• Taiwan's travel warning for China sits at orange, the level that advises avoiding non-essential trips.
• Any fine still needs clear legal backing, the caucus said, leaving room to soften how the rule is enforced.

Outlook: Expect talks between the tourism agency and travel operators to reshape the details, with the registration requirement itself likely to stay.