Beijing yesterday announced that starting today it is suspending a program that allowed individual tourists from 47 Chinese cities to travel to Taiwan, citing the current state of relations between the two sides.
Chinese nationals may only travel to Taiwan as tourists if they are part of tour groups, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a statement.
The ministry’s statement did not provide any further details as to the reason for the ban.
Photo: CNA
The unexpected move comes as China attempts to isolate Taiwan and President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration.
Travel to Taiwan was opened to Chinese nationals in 2011, during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
The move might also be aimed at hurting Tsai’s re-election chances in the presidential election on Jan. 11 next year.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) declined to answer a question about the decision, asking reporters at a briefing in Beijing yesterday afternoon to talk to the relevant department for Taiwan affairs.
The Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement condemning the move, saying that cross-strait tourism is an important way of promoting better understanding.
It called on Beijing to discuss the issue with Taipei.
The Tourism Bureau said it regretted Beijing’s decision and hoped for a return to positive interaction with China.
“This is a shock to all of us. We are all very worried about it,” Taipei Association of Travel Agents chairman Benny Wu (吳志健) said by telephone. “This will have a huge impact on Taiwan’s tourism [industry] and economy.”
Spending by foreign tourists accounted for about 2.2 percent of GDP in 2017, the last year for which data is available, according to the bureau.
China was the largest single source of people visiting Taiwan and accounted for almost one-third of total visitors to the nation in May, according to a Bloomberg calculation based on data published by the bureau.
“As Taiwan is holding a presidential election soon, it’s not surprising that China is banning its citizens from visiting Taiwan,” KGI Securities Investment Advisory Co (凱基投顧) chairman Chu Yen-min (朱晏民) said.
“It seems to be a routine practice ahead of elections, as China doesn’t want its citizens to witness democracy,” Chu added. “The ban is expected to have a limited impact on Taiwan’s economy and stock market, as those hit are mostly not listed companies.”
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better