Taiwan opts for ‘step-by-step’ reopening to mainland China, Hong Kong

Taipei’s council for cross-strait policy says full reopening must wait because of security concerns
Beijing calls restrictions on Hong Kong, Macau and mainland travellers a ‘double standard’ as island prepares to lift border controls for other tourists

Taiwan

Lawrence Chungin Taipei

Published: 4:20pm, 29 Sep 2022

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Taiwan plans to lift border controls in two weeks, but its full reopening to Hong Kong must wait because of security concerns, according to the island’s council for cross-strait policy.

Citing Beijing’s “repeated threats” against the self-ruled island, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said on Thursday that reopening to people from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China would happen gradually.

“In the past two years, mainland China has repeatedly ramped up pressure and intimidation against Taiwan, which has seriously affected normal exchanges and interactions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said the council, which is responsible for policy on relations with Beijing.

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“We will adjust our entry restrictions on people from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China on a step-by-step basis” while “ensuring national security and the rights of [Taiwan’s] people” and keeping economic development and Covid-19 measures in mind, it said.

The council’s comments came after Beijing accused the island of blocking normal visits by people from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

“While Taiwan prepares to lift its border controls, the various restrictions it set on visits by people from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau are obviously a double standard,” Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said on Wednesday.

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She said as long as Taiwan is able to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control, it should stop its “political manoeuvres” and resume normal visits and exchanges for people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

The council said that under the plan, people from Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland would be allowed to visit for family, funerals and professional and business purposes.

People from Hong Kong and Macau will be allowed to visit extended family and immediate relatives, the council said, adding they will also be allowed to visit Taiwan for business.

“Additionally, Hong Kong and Macau residents can always apply to immigrate to Taiwan,” the council said.

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As for when the island would reopen to Hong Kong and mainland tourists, the council said it would make timely adjustments according to the situation.

Cross-strait relations have been strained since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle. To ramp up pressure on Tsai, Beijing has staged war games near the island and suspended official contacts and exchanges with Taiwan.

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Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory to be taken under its control, by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, though Washington opposes any attempt to take the island by force.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s cabinet confirmed it would start lifting border controls from October 13 following more than two years of travel restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Under the plan, foreign visitors from 66 countries subject to visa-waiver programmes will be allowed to visit for general purposes, including sightseeing, without needing to go through the three-day mandatory quarantine, though they must monitor their health for seven days.

Visitors from countries without visa-waiver programmes will also be allowed in after obtaining visas to visit, according to cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng.

Instead of undergoing saliva PCR tests at the airport, inbound passengers will receive four rapid antigen test kits to self-test at home or in their hotels, Lo said, adding the number of arrivals will be capped at 150,000 per week initially, up from 60,000 currently.

Travel agencies will also be allowed to resume local and overseas tours for both Taiwanese and foreign tourists, according to Lo.