Taiwan urges China not to attach political strings to cross-strait travel

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Wednesday urged Beijing not to politicize cross-strait travel and to lift all restrictions, reiterating that Chinese tourists are welcome to visit Taiwan.

Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), deputy head and spokesperson of the MAC, Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait affairs, said at a news conference that the government has made all preparations needed to welcome back Chinese tourists.

"As long as the Chinese side does not act with political motives, attach conditions, or arbitrarily suspend tourism as a means of coercion, we will extend a warm welcome [to Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan]," Liang added.

"But if the Chinese side engages in political maneuvers, we will respond accordingly," he noted, without elaborating.

Liang's statement was in response to Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan's (華源) remarks at the 15th Taipei-Shanghai Twin-City Forum in Taipei on Tuesday that he would work to push for groups of Shanghai residents to visit Taiwan, particularly Taipei.

Chinese tourism in Taiwan, whether independent or group travel, has been largely frozen by the Chinese authorities for over four years. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) currently only allows Fujian residents to visit Taiwan-held Kinmen and Matsu.

Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), said later Tuesday that Hua's "expression of intent" aligns with the shared desire of people across the Taiwan Strait for exchanges and "has been welcomed by the public and the tourism industry on the island."

"We look forward to the resumption of travel by mainlanders to Taiwan, including those from Shanghai, as soon as possible," Zhu said.

In response to Zhu's remarks, Liang said the resumption would depend on whether China's MCT lifts the travel ban because doing so is not up to the Shanghai (government) nor the TAO, according to Chinese law.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), who is in charge of matters relating to tourism, said earlier Wednesday he hopes China will lift political restrictions and allow Chinese tourists to freely visit Taiwan.

Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), chairperson of The Third Wednesday Association, an organization formed by Taiwanese business owners and leaders, said that the business sector sees the Twin-City Forum in a positive light and hopes for more cross-strait exchanges, including tourists, businesspeople and the media visiting Taiwan.