The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism yesterday announced its third batch of countries that Chinese tour groups can visit — with Taiwan conspicuously left out of the list.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Jan Jyh-horng (詹志宏) said that the government has conveyed through various communication channels Taiwan’s sincerity and goodwill in promoting tourism, but so far there has been no positive response on China’s part.
China’s latest list covers 78 countries, including Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
As China reopened to the world, it announced its first list of target destinations for tour groups on Feb. 6 and its second list on March 10, which covered 60 countries.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office on May 19 announced that Chinese travel agencies can host tour groups arriving from Taiwan, saying that the matter does not require cross-strait negotiations.
Taiwan, on the other hand, allows individuals to travel to China, but bans travel agencies from organizing group tours to China.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) last month reiterated that both Taiwan and China must mutually show goodwill before normal cross-strait tourism could resume.
“We do not ban individuals from traveling to China, but China prohibits its own people from traveling to Taiwan individually or through package tours. They hope tour groups from Taiwan can come visit, and likewise we hope Chinese tour groups can come,” Wang told reporters.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the list is the result of deteriorating cross-strait relations and a lack of mutual trust, a Taiwanese tour operator told the Taipei Times on condition of anonymity.
While Beijing might have factored the upcoming presidential election into its consideration when it excluded Taiwan from the list, the operator said that both sides need to quickly resume negotiations through the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and the Association for Tourism Exchange across the Taiwan Strait, which represent Taiwan and China respectively.
Both sides have already missed two great opportunities to break the ice and communicate with one another, the operator said.
For the Cross-Strait Summer Travel Fair in Taipei last month, which was held in conjunction with the Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, China was planning to send a delegation comprising officials and tourism operators from nine Chinese provinces.
Of the 212 members who were planning to attend, the Mainland Affairs Council only gave entry permits to 137 Chinese tour operators, staff members and entertainers participating in the travel fair, and denied entry to all Chinese officials, the operator said.
While travel agencies from China and Taiwan last week met in Hefei City in China’s Anhui Province for a conference, no representative from the Taiwanese government participated, the operator said.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS