Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the government body responsible for cross-strait relations, announced on Thursday that it will “ease restrictions” for Chinese business travelers starting Monday.
Taiwan revealed that it intends to ease restrictions on Chinese business travelers and organized tourist trips from China, signaling a step towards resuming tourism interactions between the two sides.
Beijing had suspended individual tourism permits for Taiwan in 2019, reflecting deteriorating relations during President Tsai Ing-wen’s tenure.
While Taiwan reopened its borders to most tourists in October last year after years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travelers from China were still prohibited from entering the island.
The Mainland Affairs Council, the Taiwanese government agency overseeing cross-strait relations, announced on Thursday that it will “ease restrictions” for Chinese business travelers, effective from Monday.
The spokesperson of Affairs Council mentioned that Chinese citizens will also be allowed to apply for entry into Taiwan from a third country, starting from September 1.
He added that Taiwan will also allow Chinese tourist groups to come to the country, initially with a maximum of 2,000 people daily.
He explained that the resumption of group tours will be implemented within a month to provide “time for preparation,” although a specific date was not announced.
Responding to whether this change signifies goodwill towards China, the spokesperson stated that Taipei hopes for the “resumption of all levels of interactions between the two sides.”
