Fly in-fly out Covid-19 jab proposal for Taiwan rejected by mainland
- Business groups had hoped for vaccination stations in mainland airports as island scrambles for doses
- Taiwanese visitors must comply with pandemic control measures or put passengers and flight crews at risk
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, on Wednesday said Taiwanese visitors hoping to get vaccinated in mainland China must comply with pandemic control measures.
The offer prompted calls from some Taiwanese business groups for vaccination stations to be set up at major airports on the mainland, including Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen, in the southeastern province of Fujian. According to the proposal, Taiwan residents would be able to get vaccinated on brief, organised visits without entering the mainland, saving time and trouble.
Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Ma said the proposal was inadvisable as skipping quarantine procedures would put passengers and crew members at risk by creating a gap in China’s defences against the outbreak.
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Cross-strait politics get in the way of Taiwan’s desperate need for Covid-19 vaccines
“At present, PCR tests and quarantine are still the basic pandemic control measures in countries and areas all over the world, which are aimed at stopping the spread of the virus,” he said, adding this was also the practice on the mainland and a responsible way to uphold the safety and health of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Ma said the death toll on the island had continued to rise but the Democratic Progressive Party government continued to refuse vaccines offered to Taiwanese people by the mainland.
