On April 28, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that it would take the lead in restoring Fujian residents to travel to Mazu. The picture shows Mazu scenic spot. (Picture source: Taiwan's "Zhongshi News Network")
On April 28, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that it would take the lead in resuming Fujian residents' tourism to Mazu, and resume Fujian residents' group tourism to Taiwan after the resumption of direct sea passenger flights from Pingtan to Taiwan. This benefit has given a "shot in the arm" to Taiwan's tourism industry in the "cold winter". Facts have also proved that the mainland is taking positive measures with practical actions to promote the normalization of personnel exchanges across the Straits and the normalization of exchanges in various fields.
Fortunately, cross-strait exchanges have recently ushered in a wave of small climaxes. Ma Ying jeou, Hong Xiuzhu, Fu Jingji and other people have successively led delegations to visit the mainland. Through dialogue, communication and exchange of views, the two sides of the Straits work together to develop cross-strait relations, find solutions to the blocked cross-strait economic and trade issues and personnel exchanges, and open the door of hope.
The compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have always been a family. They should come and go often. The closer they go, the closer they become. During Ma Ying jeou's visit to the mainland, the mainland side said that it would take more powerful measures to actively promote cross Straits exchanges and exchanges, so that compatriots on both sides of the Straits can have heart to heart exchanges, increase trust in exchanges, and promote spiritual harmony. We cordially invite Taiwan compatriots to visit the mainland more often, and we are glad to see the mainland people visit the island more often. Let the people in the island see the dawn of cross-strait tourism restart.
Half a month later, Fu Jianzhi led 16 Lanying people's representatives to visit the mainland and put forward the main appeal of "striving for the mainland tourists to come to Taiwan". When meeting with Fu Jiji and his delegation, the relevant responsible person of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the good news of "resuming Fujian residents to travel to Mazu", and gave timely goodwill response to the expectations of the people in the island, reflecting that the mainland always adheres to the concept of "one family on both sides of the Taiwan Straits", and continues to promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields across the Taiwan Straits, including tourism.
The picture shows mainland tourists traveling in Taiwan. (Picture source: Taiwan's "Zhongshi News Network")
In the past eight years, because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities maliciously blocked cross-strait exchanges, the once brilliant mainland tourists to Taiwan no longer enjoy the glory of tourism, and the tourism industry in the island has become "miserable".
After the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic at the beginning of 2020, the DPP authorities unilaterally and comprehensively prohibited mainland residents from coming to Taiwan, prohibited island travel agencies from operating team tours to the mainland, and set artificial barriers for personnel exchanges across the Taiwan Straits.
In May 2023, the mainland announced that it would resume travel agencies to operate group tours for Taiwan residents to the mainland, which was welcomed by Taiwan's tourism industry and the vast number of Taiwanese. It was not until November of the same year that the DPP authorities promised to lift the "ban on group travel" to the mainland in March 2024, but then they reversed course and abruptly called a halt before the Lunar New Year, which caught the island's tourism industry full of expectations off guard.
It is clear who is trying to think for the immediate interests of the Taiwan people and who is maliciously obstructing and restricting the normal exchanges between people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.
Over the years, mainland residents' travel to Taiwan has played a positive role in promoting the development of Taiwan's tourism and related industries. In 2015, before the Democratic Progressive Party came to power, the number of mainland visitors to Taiwan reached 4.184 million, bringing Taiwan tens of billions of New Taiwan dollars in tourism revenue. Mainland tourists once became the main source of Taiwan's tourism revenue.
By 2023, there will be only 195000 mainland tourists to Taiwan, and fewer mainland tourists. Last year, the island's tourism revenue and expenditure hit the largest deficit. The Democratic Progressive Party authorities' original goal of 12 million tourists to Taiwan this year will also be lowered, and Taiwan's tour guides will lose a lot of jobs and have a hard life.
At the same time, the culture and tourism industry in the mainland has a strong momentum of development, and the huge dividends derived therefrom can only be seen by Taiwan's tourism industry.
The picture shows the tourist group gathering at Taoyuan Airport. (Picture source: Taiwan's "Zhongshi News Network")
On the other hand, with the increase of understanding of the mainland, more and more Taiwan compatriots also want to come to the mainland for sightseeing, visiting great rivers and mountains, and seeing the new development of various places. According to the statistics of Taiwan's tourism practitioners, in 2019, Taiwan's outbound tourism reached more than 17 million person times, about one-third of which were tourists to the mainland, and half of them were group tourists.
March 1, 2024 is the first day for Taiwan tour groups to land on the mainland in more than four years. On that day, nearly 50 tour groups set out for the mainland, and many tourists who "scrambled" to the first day of the tour said they were looking forward to the mainland trip. However, under the political manipulation of the DPP authorities, after June 1, Taiwan's tourism industry can no longer travel to the mainland.
At present, the DPP authorities have not opened up the exchange of mainland residents to Taiwan, nor lifted the "ban on group travel", so that Taiwan's tourism industry has been in the "cold winter" for a long time, which bears an unshirkable responsibility.
The compatriots on both sides of the Straits are Chinese, and they want to go more, get closer, and get closer. They hope that freedom will not hinder exchanges. With the original intention of resuming exchanges and cooperation in various fields across the Taiwan Straits for the benefit of Taiwan compatriots and tourism industry, the mainland took the lead in releasing goodwill and sending "timely rain" to Taiwan tourism industry. In the current environment of cross-strait relations, this statement is of great significance, symbolizing the dawn of cross-strait tourism recovery and the opportunity to ease cross-strait relations.
Whether the cross-strait tourism can "blossom in spring" and whether Taiwan's tourism industry can get out of the predicament depends on whether the DPP authorities can seize the opportunity, lift the ban and resume exchanges as the island's tourism industry expects.
Peace, development, exchanges and cooperation are the mainstream public opinion in the island. At present, the people in the island have a strong voice for opening up cross-strait tourism. They hope that the DPP authorities will face up to the demands of public opinion, remove the artificial barriers and restrictions that hinder and undermine cross-strait exchanges and cooperation as soon as possible, and fully resume direct air and sea flights across the Straits as soon as possible, so as to create favorable conditions for the resumption of cross-strait tourism and personnel exchanges, and promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations with practical actions.
We also believe that as long as compatriots on both sides of the Straits work together to remove obstacles, cross Straits exchanges and cooperation will usher in a bright future. (Wen/Wang Dongnan)
