A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Thursday called on Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to remove restrictions on travel by mainland residents to Taiwan at an early date.
At a press briefing in Beijing, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, slammed the DPP's political manipulation in response to the Taiwan authorities' decision to reject applications from tourism operators in Shanghai Municipality and Fujian Province to conduct preparatory visits to Taiwan. The decision has drawn criticism from tourism operators and industry groups on the island.
"Promoting the resumption of travel by residents of Shanghai and Fujian to Taiwan is a positive step that aligns with mainstream public opinion in Taiwan and will help promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. Preparatory visits are a routine industry practice to coordinate accommodation, tourist sites and reception arrangements, which are purely private, business-related exchange. However, the DPP authorities unilaterally demanded prior consultations through tourism bodies as a prerequisite and rejected the applications for preparatory visits to the island," Zhu said.
"Such a move is typical political manipulation and the creation of artificial barriers. The industry's call for less political manipulation and prioritizing tourism fully reflects the industry's dissatisfaction and opposition to the DPP authorities' deliberate politicization of cross-strait tourism and their disregard for the survival difficulties of tourism operators on the island and the livelihood demands of ordinary people," she said.
"We have upheld the vision that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family, promoted the resumption of travel by mainland residents to Taiwan and continued to extend goodwill. Since 2024, travel by residents of Fujian and Shanghai to Kinmen and Matsu has been restored," said the spokeswoman.
"If the DPP authorities truly care about the livelihoods of those in the tourism sector, they should lift the restrictions on mainland residents traveling to Taiwan at an early date," Zhu said.
Chinese mainland urges DPP authorities to lift travel restrictions on mainland residents
A promotional event for the fifth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" was held in Ankara on Wednesday, bringing together government officials, scholars and publishers from China and Türkiye.
Participants said the new volume is an authoritative work that comprehensively and systematically presents the latest achievements of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It vividly showcases the theory and practice of Chinese modernization on the new journey, and offers a profound exposition of China's vision and proposals for advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. As the event coincided with the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Türkiye, they said exchanges on state governance experience, with modernization as the theme, would help deepen political mutual trust, promote the alignment of development strategies between the two countries, and enable both sides to advance together on the path to modernization.
Addressing the event, Celal Adan, deputy speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, said the fifth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" provides a valuable reference for understanding China's policy direction and strategic thinking on global issues.
He said Türkiye is willing to take this event as an opportunity to further deepen exchanges between the two countries' legislatures and practical cooperation in various fields, enhance synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Middle Corridor, and achieve new progress in economic and trade, investment, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and tourism cooperation.
Gokhan Yazgi, deputy minister of culture and tourism of Türkiye, said the promotion event for the fifth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" held in Türkiye was highly inspiring. The book systematically explains that the Communist Party of China, through adhering to its people-centered development philosophy, has achieved sustained and healthy economic and social development in China and maintained long-term social stability, he said, adding this provides positive inspiration for the international community, especially for Türkiye.
Türkiye is willing to deepen people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations with China, injecting new impetus into bilateral friendship and cooperation, he said.
Giray Fidan, a prominent Turkish sinologist, said that books serve as bridges connecting different civilizations and play an important role in cultural exchange.
The translation and publication of the series in multiple languages represents a concrete practice of Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for civilizations to transcend estrangement through exchanges, creating new opportunities for the world to better understand China, Fidan said.
During the event, the Chinese side presented Turkish guests with copies of the English edition of the fifth volume and the Turkish edition of the second volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China."
Participating experts, scholars, and youth representatives engaged in in-depth exchanges on topics including economic and trade cooperation, green transition, mutual learning among civilizations, and global governance.
The event was jointly organized by China's State Council Information Office, China International Communications Group and the Chinese Embassy in Türkiye. More than 200 participants from the publishing industry, think tanks, media organizations and other sectors in both countries attended the event.
Promotional event for 5th volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" held in Türkiye
