The minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, Chiu Tai-san, the body responsible for relations with China, urged Taiwanese society to be "aware of the risks" when visiting China, adding that a list of precautions to take will be published.
In a statement, the government department said that the new state secrets law "significantly expands" the definition of state secrets and matters subject to confidentiality in China.
Taiwan warned that the content of the regulation was "vague and very uncertain", with "provisions that could lead to violations of the law at any time"
"The lack of transparency in the rule of law of the Communist Party of China [CCP] has considerably increased the risk of possible violations of the law, raising questions and concerns across the board," noted the Mainland Affairs Council.
Under the legislation, conducting interviews, academic research or collecting commercial and investment information in China could be detrimental to the Asian giant's "national interests".
"The Mainland Affairs Council once again reminds the people not to travel to mainland China unless necessary," adds the body's official text.
In recent years, Taiwan has also strengthened legislation to combat Chinese interference in the island's internal affairs, including the launch in January 2020 of an anti-infiltration law that punishes political activities supported by "hostile foreign forces".
What is or isn't a "state secret"?
The new measures have raised concerns in some quarters about the possible ambiguity of the definition of "state secrets", raising fears that it could be used to restrict freedom of expression and access to information.
The law, which has not been updated since 2010, broadens the scope of what is considered "state secrets" and includes, for the first time, "Internet information platforms" as distribution channels subject to confidentiality requirements.
The legislation also tightens the restrictions imposed on civil servants who handle classified information.
According to the CCP's official newspaper, the Global Times, the party seeks to "strengthen leadership in the face of new challenges", with a view to "safeguarding national security and interests" and combating "new forms of espionage", such as phishing, cyber leaks and illegal cross-border data transmission.
