Chinese Officials Heading to Taiwan International Travel Expo 'Denied Entry'

Taiwan has reportedly denied entry to a large number of Chinese government officials for the upcoming 'Taipei Summer International Travel Fair' to be held locally next month.

According to reports from China's Global Times and Taiwan's Central News Agency on the 29th, the Joint Review Committee composed of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, Immigration Agency, and Tourism Bureau announced the previous day that they would deny entry to government officials from nine Chinese provinces related to travel, who were invited by the fair's organizers. However, representatives from Chinese travel agencies and other private sector travel industry personnel were approved to visit Taiwan. As a result, out of the 212 Chinese individuals originally invited by the organizers, only 137 private travel industry representatives will be able to participate in this fair.

According to these media reports, it is estimated that 75 Chinese government officials were denied entry by Taiwanese authorities.

The Taipei Travel Fair, co-hosted by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association and the Quality Assurance Association, will be held from the 14th to the 17th of next month. It is the largest cross-strait (China and Taiwan) travel-related exchange event held in Taiwan since the outbreak of COVID-19. In this regard, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China, expressed regret, stating, "If tourism industry personnel from nine Chinese provinces participate in this fair, it will help Taiwanese compatriots understand the development of tourism in China and assist in developing new tourism products and routes." She also emphasized, "Taiwan authorities should face the wishes and expectations of Taiwanese compatriots and the tourism industry and lift the unreasonable restrictions on group tours from Taiwan to mainland China."

She further stated, "Since the easing of epidemic prevention measures, the demand for direct flights between cities on both sides of the strait has steadily increased. In the past week alone, 510 flights operated, transporting over 82,000 passengers." She added, "Cross-strait airlines have applied to resume additional direct flights between Wuhan, Ningbo, Zhengzhou, and cities in Taiwan, but Taiwanese authorities have not approved these requests." She concluded by asserting, "Taiwan authorities should lift unilateral and unreasonable restrictions to meet the demands of compatriots on both sides who wish to travel."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.