A Taiwanese man held in China for nearly four years is warning others that trips across the strait carry real danger of being detained and never coming home.

• A social media user asked whether it was safe to visit Shanghai in November, and Lee Meng-chu — jailed in China for close to four years — answered with his own story.
• Lee says he was set up by a former local township chief in Pingtung who reported him to Chinese authorities on baseless separatism accusations.
• He says two or three other people reported by the same man are still locked up in China today.
• Taiwan's mainland affairs body counts 431 citizens since the start of 2024 who went missing, were detained, or had their freedom restricted in China.
• China has admitted holding one traveler for a six-hour interrogation simply for having worked at Amnesty International's Taiwan branch.

Outlook: With Beijing expanding its national security laws and enforcement powers, warnings against non-essential travel to China are likely to get louder in Taiwan.