Taiwan set to discuss familiarisation trips with Mainland China

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is urging officers in Mainland China to correctly discuss familiarisation trips they’re planning to make to the nation.

This is in preparation for the resumption of tour group visits by Shanghai and Fujian province residents.

In an announcement issued on Friday, twenty fourth January, MAC officers stated: “To ensure that future tourism exchanges are conducted in a healthy and orderly manner, matters related to familiarization trips to Taiwan should be discussed through ‘the two cross-strait tourism associations’ before proceeding.”

A vital response

MAC’s assertion was a response to one made earlier on the identical day by Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), the Council’s counterpart in China.

In his assertion, Chen confirmed that these organising familiarisation trips already submitted functions to Taiwanese authorities to go to Taiwan.

He stated: “We hope that the visits by tourism professionals from the two regions to Taiwan proceed smoothly, laying a solid foundation for the resumption of group travel for residents of both regions.”

Discussions are underway

MAC officers added that the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) will likely be in contact with its mainland counterpart, the Association For Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits (ATETS), to suggest discussions on issues of mutual concern.

The TSTA and ATETS have been established by Taipei and Beijing, respectively, to facilitate coordination and negotiations between the 2 sides of the Taiwan Strait on tourism.

At current, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) at the moment solely permits Fujian residents to go to Taiwan-held Kinmen and Matsu, however not different cities or counties in Taiwan.