Central government urges DPP to lift travel restrictions on mainland visitors

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan should lift travel restrictions on mainland residents at an early date, said Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Zhu made the remark in response to a media inquiry on an appeal made by Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, to revive the tourism sector of Penghu County of the Taiwan region.

Cheng said Penghu boasts stunning natural scenery and rich cultural heritage, but its development has been hampered in recent years. She called for the full resumption of "mini three links," direct two-way postal, trade and transport links between the mainland and the Taiwan region, so that Penghu can receive mainland tourists like Kinmen and Matsu.

She said this is the key to reviving local tourism industry.

"The 'mini three links' are livelihood channels and kinship routes connecting people across the Taiwan Strait. As of June 30, 2026, the 'mini three links' have safely carried out over 27 million passenger trips, with over 1.15 million passenger trips performed in the first half of this year alone, injecting strong momentum into the development of Taiwan's tourism industry," said Zhu.

"Tourism is an important carrier for a better life and is a natural bridge to promote exchanges. We have earnestly heeding the opinions and suggestions of people from all walks of life in Taiwan and actively promoted the resumption of Shanghai and Fujian residents' travel to Kinmen and Matsu, which has been warmly welcomed by the people of Taiwan," said Zhu.

People on the mainland are very willing to travel to various around Taiwan, including Penghu, but the main obstacle now comes from the DPP authorities who are using various untenable reasons to impede mainland residents from traveling to Taiwan, artificially blocking the recovery of the cross-strait tourism market. We advise the DPP authorities to prioritize the interests of people on both sides of the Strait and lift the travel restrictions on mainland residents to Taiwan at an early date," said Zhu.

Central government urges DPP to lift travel restrictions on mainland visitors

The British government announced on Tuesday that it would impose a midnight curfew on the use of social media by teenagers aged 16 and 17.

The new restriction came following the government's announcement in June that it would ban people under the age of 16 from using a range of social media applications.

According to a UK government statement, by default, 16- and 17-year-olds are prohibited from using social media between midnight and 06:00. Furthermore, features intended to encourage users to spend more time browsing, including automatic continuous video playback and personalized content recommendations, will also be disabled by default. The government has not yet specified which social media platforms are included in this ban.

In the statement, UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall said that while teenagers gain greater independence after turning 16, they should still be protected from the negative effects of highly addictive online features that can harm their physical and mental health.

The bill is scheduled to be submitted to parliament for review before the end of 2026, and the relevant measures are expected to be implemented as early as spring 2027.

UK to impose midnight social media curfew on 16- and 17-year-olds