Personnel exchanges across the Taiwan Strait saw a yearly increase of 62 percent over the past year, thanks to the Chinese government’s 10 measures to optimize exit-entry services for compatriots in Taiwan adopted a year ago.
The measures were officially implemented on Jan 1, 2024 by the National Immigration Administration, aiming to offer convenience for Taiwan residents living in east China's Fujian Province and deepen the integrated development across the Taiwan Straits.
With these measures in place, cross-Strait personnel exchanges have increased significantly. The "mini-three-links" passenger sea routes connecting Fujian with the Taiwan-administered Kinmen and Matsu have enabled compatriots on both sides of the Strait to visit relatives and friends more frequently, and tourism has become more popular, injecting vitality into cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation.
"It is very convenient for us traveling or visiting relatives, and the ferry tickets are relatively cheap. There are more ferry routes now and the time is relatively fixed," said a visitor from Kinmen.
"I have been here many times and have not encountered any inconvenience. It's quite fast to go through customs, since first of all, I have a mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents, which make things quite convenient for people in Taiwan," said another visitor from Taiwan.
Statistics show that in 2024, the Fujian border inspection authorities inspected 1.766 million Taiwanese people entering and leaving the mainland, provided convenient customs clearance services for 432,000 people, and provided 24/7 customs clearance services for more than 17,000 ships traveling between Fujian and Taiwan, an increase of 56.5 percent, 259.2 percent, and 29.7 percent year on year, respectively.
"To actively respond to the continuous increase of entering and exiting passengers, we've been proactive in contacting the terminals and ship agents to get their additional shipping schedules in advance. We also closely monitored changes in passenger flow at ports, enhanced early warning service for passenger flow peaks, and strengthened guidance and diversion measures to ensure rapid customs clearance for passengers at all times," said Shen Wenjuan, director of the border inspection division under the Xiamen Gaoqi Border Inspection Station.
Relevant departments said that in the future they will continue to optimize and improve the implementation of various policies and continue to deepen exchanges in various fields across the Taiwan Strait.
Government measures boost cross-Strait personnel exchanges in 2024
Government measures boost cross-Strait personnel exchanges in 2024
