The Chinese mainland has voiced strong criticism against Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for what it perceives as unwarranted obstacles to the revival of cross-Straits tourism and exchanges.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, addressed the issue on Friday, highlighting the DPP authorities' reliance on weak excuses to block tourism initiatives. According to Zhu, such actions disregard both public opinion and the interests of Taiwan.
Recent applications for Taiwan inspection tours submitted by tourism operators in Fujian Province and Shanghai Municipality were met with resistance from Taiwan authorities. These applications came shortly after the mainland announced the resumption of group tour services to Taiwan for residents of Fujian and Shanghai starting January.
The Taiwan authorities have asserted that pending tourism-related matters, including the inspection tours, should be discussed by the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and the mainland-based Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits. Zhu criticized this stance, labeling it as a mere pretext to prevent mainland tourists from visiting Taiwan.
She emphasized that these two organizations will be able to coordinate cross-Straits tourism arrangements once services resume. The mainland's proactive efforts to restore tourism are seen as beneficial by Taiwan's tourism industry and the general public. However, the DPP authorities' resistant approach has dampened industry expectations.
Zhu concluded by warning that continued obstruction by the DPP authorities could lead to a decline in public support and negative repercussions for their policies.
Reference(s):
Mainland slams Taiwan's DPP for obstructing cross-Straits tourism
cgtn.com
