China is expected to see 171.76 million cross-regional passenger trips on Wednesday, the 38th day of its annual Spring Festival travel rush, according to the country's Ministry of Transport.
The figure marked a 1.7-percent decrease from the previous day but a 0.6-percent increase from the same period in 2025.
China's railway system expects to handle an estimated passenger volume of 9.1 million trips, down 2.9 percent from the previous day and 11.5 percent from the same period in 2025.
The passenger flows on roads are set to reach an estimated 159.96 million trips, down 1.6 percent from the previous day but up 1.4 percent from the same period of last year.
Waterway passenger volume is expected to hit an estimated 630,000 trips, down 1.5 percent from the previous day and up 11.1 percent from the same period in 2025.
The civil aviation sector expects to handle 2.07 million passenger trips, up 0.8 percent from the previous day but down 1.7 percent from the corresponding period of the year before.
Cross-regional passenger flow lowers as Spring Festival travel rush nears end
A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te over his latest remarks on cross-Strait relations, accusing him of promoting secessionism and escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a press release that Lai's speech marking his second anniversary in office was "filled with lies and deception, hostility and confrontation."
Chen accused Lai of stubbornly adhering to a secessionist stance in pursuit of "Taiwan independence," while exaggerating the so-called threats from the mainland and intensifying confrontation across the Strait.
Lai played an old trick of advocating the secessionist agenda on one hand and, on the other, calling insincerely for dialogue and exchanges with the mainland, attempting to mislead people in Taiwan and deceive the international community, he said.
Chen said that these common tricks have been seen through by more and more Taiwanese people. Their deceptive and provocative actions will be met with firm opposition from compatriots on both sides and the international community, and are doomed to fail.
Reaffirming the mainland's position on the Taiwan question, Chen said Taiwan has never been a country, is not one now, and will never become one in the future.
He described the Taiwan question as a historical issue left over from a Chinese civil war in the 1940s.
No election result in Taiwan could alter the fact that Taiwan is part of China or sever the historical and legal bonds linking the two sides of the Strait, according to Chen.
The mainland would never allow any person or force to pursue secessionist activities under any pretext, he added.
Calling secessionists "the chief culprit" who undermines cross-Strait peace, Chen said the mainland would continue to uphold the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, unite broadly with Taiwan compatriots, combat secessionist activities, and safeguard peace and stability across the Strait.
Central government spokesperson refutes Lai Ching-te's latest remarks, warns against secessionist moves
