The Economic Democracy Union yesterday accused travel agency ezTravel of maintaining ties to Chinese government agencies and receiving funding from Beijing in exchange for leaking customer data.
EzTravel is effectively controlled by Singapore-based Trip.com, union secretary-general Chiang Min-yen (江旻諺) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan.
“While all nine members on Trip.com’s board of directors are Chinese, two of them also serves as consultative members to the Chinese Communist Party,” Chiang said, adding that Eztravel’s ties to Trip.com might contravene Taiwanese law.
Three members on ezTravel’s board of directors are Chinese, he said, adding that “they would probably pass on personal information of Taiwanese travelers to the Chinese government, if Beijing demands it.”
Although it might not be clear if ezTravel or its board members contravene the law, it is worrying that the company disregards Taiwanese rights to privacy, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) said, adding that the Tourism Bureau should lead an investigation into the company and who controls it.
As ezTravel is registered in Taipei, the city government should inform the public if it had knowledge of Chinese influence on the company, Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) said, adding that the city should consider revoking its business license.
EzTravel chairman Chen Fu-yen (陳甫彥) refuted the allegations, saying that none of the three foreign members on the company’s board are Chinese.
Chiang and lawmakers said that the three board members might be Chinese nationals who have obtained naturalized citizenship in other countries for the purpose of doing business in Taiwan.
