Mainland tourists will be able to travel to Taiwan on their own from next year, in yet another sign of warming cross-strait ties.
The plan, announced by Taiwanese Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday, is tipped to further boost the island's economy, in addition to NT$29.5 billion (HK$7.2 billion) in mainland tariff waivers agreed to by the two sides in a landmark trade pact late last month.
Mainland tourists have been able to visit the island since 2008 as a result of ground-breaking talks between the two former rivals, but only in tightly controlled tour groups. Those historic talks, which significantly improved cross-strait ties, stemmed from mainland-friendly Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's policy of engaging Beijing. Taiwan had long banned direct visits by mainlanders because of fears that some could be spies while others might end up becoming illegal immigrants. The 2008 deal has allowed up to 3,600 mainland group tourists a day.
Wu said yesterday that with the number of mainland tourists expected to hit 1.5 million this year, it was time for the two sides to review their travel policies to allow mainland tourists to visit the island individually as well. 'I hope that if our two sides are able to complete preparatory measures [in time], individual mainland tourists will be able to travel to Taiwan on a trial basis as early as the Lantern Festival next year,' he said. That festival falls on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, - mid February next year.
Wu said that during the initial period, up to 500 individual tourists would be allowed to travel to the island each day, and tourists from the mainland's southern and eastern coastal areas would be among the first batch of visitors to be allowed in.
Wu declined to name the places, but some Taiwanese media, quoting unnamed negotiators at the recent fifth round of cross-strait talks, said they included Beijing, Tianjin , Shanghai, Chongqing and Nanjing .