Fujian residents to lead the way as Beijing eases curbs on group travel to Taiwan
- Travellers from the province will first be able to visit Matsu and then the main island of Taiwan, once direct sea services resume, official says
- Analyst says reopening of travel depends on Taipei’s actions after William Lai Ching-te takes office as the island’s leader next month
Residents from the coastal mainland Chinese province of Fujian will be the first allowed to visit Taiwan on group tours following a pledge by Beijing to lift restrictions on travel to the island.
Rao Quan, the mainland vice-minister of culture and tourism, said on Sunday that Fujian residents would initially be able to visit Matsu, a Taiwan-governed archipelago of islands and islets near the mainland’s coast.
Once direct sea passenger routes resumed from Pingtan, Fujian residents would then be able to travel in groups to the main island of Taiwan, Rao added.
He announced the decision during a meeting with a delegation of legislators from Taiwan’s mainland-friendly opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), led by caucus convener Fu Kun-chi.
The mainland’s deputy chief of customs, Zhao Zenglian, told Fu in a separate meeting that imports of Taiwanese pomelo and other agricultural products would be resumed.
The mainland has issued successive import bans on Taiwanese fruit and fish since March 2021, when cross-strait relations turned sour. It expanded the ban to more agricultural products in August 2022 after former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi defied Beijing’s warnings and visited the island.