Mainland nationals need travel documents from both Beijing and Taipei, and the people who spoke to SCMP said the Beijing side wasn’t the holdup. Since 2023, mainlanders have been able to apply directly to the National Immigration Agency for short-term exhibition permits, but anyone whose sponsor or activity touches high-tech sectors such as semiconductors must first secure separate special approval, according to advisories from immigration law firms Fragomen and BAL.
Those advisories also note that the number of staff a company may send is capped under revenue-based quotas. That being a discretionary decision, rather than an outright ban, is what allows Taiwanese authorities to indefinitely delay an application without having to officially reject it.
Taiwan has been taking an increasingly harder stance on mainland access to its tech sector this year, having launched its first formal crackdown on illicit AI hardware exports to China in May. Taiwanese courts are also currently prosecuting TSMC trade-secret theft under the National Security Act .
We’ve also seen several reports this year describing intensifying Chinese efforts to poach Taiwanese chip talent, set against more than 420 Chinese military aircraft operating near the island in the first quarter. Mainland travel to Taiwan has fallen accordingly: 58,708 mainland residents visited in the first quarter of 2026, down 13% year over year, according to Taiwan's interior ministry.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/mainland-chinese-exhibitors-locked-out-of-computex-2026#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.