The Mainland Affairs Council is confirming that group travelers to China will
not be forced to register their trips...

even under new rules requiring travel agencies to help clients do so.

Spokesperson Liang Wen Jie said that the voluntary travel registration system
is meant to help authorities keep track of Taiwanese travelers in China,
should they go missing or encounter other emergency situations.

Liang described last week's flash floods in Nepal and Tibet, saying 51
Taiwanese people had registered as being in Tibet at the time, giving
authorities a general picture of how many Taiwanese people were in the region
at the time of the accident.

His remarks came after the Tourism Administration recently instructed travel
agencies to inform travelers of the risks of visiting China, assist them in
completing the government's voluntary online travel registration, submit
relevant statistics to authorities and ensure the group is covered by travel
agency liability insurance.

Taiwan's new rules come ahead of China's implementation later this month of
new entry-exit regulations, which the MAC says may increase risks for
Taiwanese citizens.