The Chinese mainland has reiterated its commitment to promoting youth exchanges across the Taiwan Straits and urged Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to lift restrictions on cross-Strait travel.
During a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, welcomed more young people from Taiwan to visit the mainland.
Zhu's comments came as media outlets inquired about an upcoming visit by faculty and students from seven Chinese mainland universities, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Fudan University. Scheduled for late November, the visit is organized at the invitation of the Taiwan-based Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation.
The spokesperson highlighted that this exchange is reciprocal, following former Chinese Kuomintang chairman Ma Ying-jeou's trip, where he led a group of Taiwanese students to mainland universities.
In addition to youth exchanges, the recent resumption of travel for Fujian Province residents to Kinmen and Matsu islands was also highlighted. As of October 31, mainland immigration authorities had processed 58,735 travel permit applications for visits to Kinmen and Matsu, indicating strong interest among mainland residents.
Zhu emphasized that the mainland will continue to facilitate group tourism to Taiwan as part of its efforts to enhance cross-Strait relations.
\"We hope the DPP authorities will heed the voices of the public and remove restrictions on cross-Strait exchanges at an early date,\" Zhu stated.
Reference(s):
Mainland urges DPP to lift cross-Straits travel restrictions
cgtn.com
