A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday urged relevant authorities in Taiwan region to remove unreasonable restrictions and work toward the restoration of cross-Strait tourism exchanges.
Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office during a press conference, made the remarks when asked about the travel restoration of Shanghai residents to Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu.
In late April, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism announced that Shanghai residents can apply for group and individual tours to Kinmen and Matsu starting April 29.
On May 11, the first group of tourists from Shanghai arrived in Kinmen for traveling and returned to Shanghai two days later, which was reported by media in Taiwan as a boost to local tourism industry.
"We welcome the resumption of travel by Shanghai residents to Kinmen and Matsu, as well as the positive response from Kinmen. This fully demonstrates the strong desire of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, especially residents of Kinmen, for the normalization of cross-Strait travel and regularized exchanges and cooperation. We are willing to actively promote anything that helps enhance the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and facilitate exchanges. We will take proactive measures to support and encourage closer people-to-people interactions across the strait. Relevant authorities in Taiwan should respond to the will of people and face up to the calls from the island's tourism sector and the general public to lift unreasonable restrictions as soon as possible and promote the restoration of normal cross-Strait tourism exchanges," said Zhu.
Mainland urges Taiwan authorities to lift restrictions on cross-Strait tourism exchanges
