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Opposition presidential candidate pledges to expand direct flights to China

ROC Central News Agency

08/24/2023 08:50 PM

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the presidential candidate of the Kuomintang (KMT), announced on Thursday that if elected, he will increase the number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan and resume direct air routes to 60 Chinese cities.

Currently, there are air routes from Taiwan to 10 Chinese cities, along with an additional 13 Chinese cities that accept cross-strait charter flights, according to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan's top government agency in charge of cross-strait affairs.

During a press conference in New Taipei, Hou said he would allow Taiwan to "open up to Chinese tourists" if elected.

The wider purpose of the proposed policy is to boost Taiwan's tourism industry as the average growth rate in the sector has dropped from 15 percent during the last KMT administration to 3 percent under President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) leadership, the New Taipei Mayor said.

Hou promised that if elected, the government's tourism budget would see an annual increase of 15 percent-20 percent, while investment in infrastructure, including airports, ports, high-speed rail, and conventional rail, would also be increased.

He said the goal within his first four-year term would be 18 million annual tourist visitors, using significant enhancements in tourism activities to boost economic benefits and ensure "tourism benefits the nation."

Hou noted that due to strained cross-strait relations and zero communication, the Tsai administration's touted influx of 1 million Chinese tourists, made earlier this year, is completely impossible.

The current situation not only deters Chinese tourists from visiting but has also eroded mutual trust, he said, adding that the resumption of cross-strait dialogue and communication will attract Chinese tourists back to Taiwan and stimulate the country's economy.

Since Tsai assumed office in May 2016, Taiwan has experienced a decline in Chinese tourist arrivals, as China gradually tightened control and management of tourism to Taiwan, a move widely interpreted as retaliation for Tsai's refusal to endorse the "1992 consensus."

Beginning on Aug. 1, 2019, Beijing prohibited Chinese tourists from traveling independently to Taiwan, citing "current cross-strait relations." Later, in January 2020, amid the initial stages of the pandemic, group travel was also banned.

In contrast, Taiwan permits individuals to travel to China for leisure or study, though the restriction on travel agencies organizing group trips to China remains in place as part of the country's COVID-19 control measures.

However, Taiwan is slated to reopen its borders to Chinese tourists who either reside or study in a third country on Sept. 1. The ban on group travel to China is likely to be lifted following a one-month preparatory period, as announced by the MAC on Thursday.

(By Chung Yu-chen)

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