The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Mainland issued an announcement on July 31, announcing that the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association will suspend the pilot program of mainland residents in 47 cities to Taiwan from August 1.

Source: Global Network

Mainland stops personal travel to Taiwan and shakes the island. The Taiwan industry laments that the cold winter is approaching, and the Tsai administration is accused of the culprit.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Mainland issued an announcement on July 31, announcing that the Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association will suspend the pilot program of 47 cities mainland residents traveling to Taiwan from August 1. This "no early warning" announcement dropped a bombshell on Taiwan's island. Many media have said that this is the first time that mainland China has imposed restrictions on mainland tourists going to Taiwan in "black and black". What is the reason? Everyone is guessing? In the announcement, the mainland only stated that it was "in view of the current cross-strait relations." In the view of Taiwanese media, what pushes Taiwan's tourism industry into difficulties is undoubtedly the practice of the DPP authorities to cause frequent troubles, harness foreign powers, and provoking cross-strait confrontation. On July 31, the Tsai authorities criticized the unilateral breach of the contract on the other side, and the move of dextroscopy would not be punished to the Taiwan authorities. Taiwan's " China Times Electronic News " commented that the DPP authorities are taking advantage of the situation and are like a passerby, allowing the people to fall into danger. It is not unreasonable that this "government" has lost the people's hearts so much.

"Overlord-level cold current is coming"

"It's over!" This is the first reaction of Nantou County Mayor Lin Mingqin when he heard that the mainland had suspended free travel to Taiwan by mainland tourists. One of the most well-known attractions in Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake is located in the county. Taiwan's United Daily News reported that Sun Moon Lake has successively established sister lakes with the seven major lakes of the mainland, hoping that at least 100,000 tourists can travel to Nantou in-depth every year, driving the county's prosperity. When the news came out, tourists in Nantou area were shocked and lamented, "I can't even come out this time."

In June 2011, the mainland took the lead in opening up residents of Beijing, Shanghai, and Xiamen to travel freely to Taiwan. By March 2015, a total of 5 batches of 47 cities had been included in the pilot list of mainland residents' personal tours to Taiwan. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post commented that this move was the result of the recovery of cross-strait relations during Ma Ying-jeou's "rule". According to statistics from Taiwan’s “Immigration Agency of the Ministry of the Interior”, from the implementation of the pilot to the end of May this year, more than 7.235 million mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan have been traveling freely.

Individuals traveling to Taiwan must carry a Taiwan pass, a personal travel visa (G visa) and an entry permit. The first two are handled by tourists who have opened free travel cities to the entry and exit management department. The implementation of the new policy means that from August 1, mainlanders must apply for a group visa when traveling to Taiwan.

Taiwan's "Central News Agency" said that the previously rumored that the mainland's measures to limit the number of mainland passengers on Taiwan are mainly group passengers, and it has not been explicitly announced. This time, it is rare to openly launch a free travel. According to statistics, the total number of mainland tourists in the first half of this year was 1.25 million, of which the proportion of free travel has exceeded 50%. The South China Morning Post quoted Anne Ren, senior manager of Shanghai Jinjiang Tourism, as saying that mainland tourists are not very enthusiastic about traveling to Taiwan, and most tourists prefer to travel freely. If only group tours are allowed, the number of tourists to Taiwan in major cities such as Shanghai may drop to zero.

According to Taiwan travel industry assessment, mainland tourists may drop significantly from August this year to February next year to 600,000 to 800,000. According to the current average consumption level of mainland tourists in Taiwan, the five-day itinerary is about 30,000 yuan ( New Taiwan Dollar , 1 yuan is about 4.5 NT$), and it is expected that Taiwan's Tourism industry will lose 18 billion to 24 billion yuan in the second half of the year. Pan Guilan, chairman of Taitung County Tourism Association, said this was a "overlord-level cold wave" and it is estimated that the tourism industry, restaurants, department stores, etc. in Taiwan will be very miserable after September, and it is difficult to avoid the trend of overturning stores.

The Tsai administration turned against each other raids

Taiwan’s “Immigration Agency” recently announced that the number of mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan in the first half of 2019 increased by 28% compared with the same period last year, and the "optimistic estimate" is expected to reach 3 million to 3.4 million throughout the year. "China Times Electronic News" quoted scholars' comments as saying that the cross-strait political deadlock has been in more than three years, and the number of economic and trade exchanges and the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan is the only few that the DPP authorities can use to talk about cross-strait "political achievements" and mislead Taiwanese people. Even if they do not accept the "1992 Consensus", mainland tourists will go.

The shock brought to the island by the new mainland policy can be seen from the statement of Taiwan's "Tourism Director" Zhou Yonghui. He told Taiwanese media: "We only knew a few hours earlier than everyone, and we need to settle down." On the 31st, the Taiwanese authorities made a statement on this.The Ministry of the Interior said it was "solid protest and condemnation" and talked about mainland tourists, saying that mainland tourists were eager to travel to Taiwan. The DPP did not know where the "confidence" came from, speculating that the mainland's move was worried that the people would "experience the sweet fruits of freedom and democracy", and threatened that "Taiwan will embrace more tourists from more countries with open arms." The "Presidential Palace" turned the tables, saying that it was not happy to see that the normal tourism and exchanges of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were "interferenced by political factors."

In fact, it is the DPP authorities who constantly create obstacles to normal exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and even block them through political intimidation. On the 31st, the "Central Standing Committee of the DPP" also held a special report meeting on "Responding to Red Infiltration". Taiwan's "Business Times" said that the Tsai Ing-wen authorities repeatedly made "China-phobic" remarks, and the suspension of free travel should be a decision made by Beijing that was extremely dissatisfied with him. Some scholars analyzed to Taiwanese media that the DPP government is currently provoking cross-strait confrontation. If the words and deeds of mainland tourists who travel freely in Taiwan are consumed and exaggerated, they may even be operated as "mainland infiltration" or intervened in the election, and the mainland naturally needs to be prevented. Moreover, as the election situation becomes increasingly fierce, Taiwan society may intensify confrontation, and there are also personal safety concerns for tourists traveling freely.

"China Times Electronic News" commented that the core of the mainland's implementation of this measure is nothing more than to remind the Tsai administration to face up to the importance of peaceful development of cross-strait relations. However, the DPP authorities were also happy to believe that they had "picked up a gun" and blamed the mainland with irritating language of confrontation. The Executive Yuan declared that this move would not punish the Taiwan authorities, but would only punish the people. Their appearance of not only made the people feel disappointed, but also made people suspect that this "government" does not seem to know that it is the biggest source of the deadlock between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

There may be some action in the mainland?

In response to the mainland's measures, the Kuomintang stated on the 31st that it was deeply regretful that cross-strait relations were regressing and civil exchanges "stopped". The statement said that cross-strait relations have stagnated and even regressed significantly in recent years. Not only has cross-strait flights decreased, but the number of mainland Chinese and mainland tourists traveling to Taiwan has also dropped significantly, and cross-strait exchanges have been significantly affected. During the "nine-in-one election" last year, the Taiwanese people had used votes to express their firm will to "support the peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations" and "oppose ideology hinders exchanges."

Kuomintang's "presidential" candidate and mayor of Kaohsiung Kuoyu expressed "high concern" and emphasized that he was very clear about the importance of mainland tourists in driving Taiwan's tourism industry. He expressed his hope that the mainland will understand that "the people of Taiwan do not equal the DPP." He also called on the DPP authorities to face it with caution and should not put a "red hat" on normal cross-strait exchanges at any time, which is in line with the expectations of most kind Taiwanese people.

"Blue Committee" Li Yanxiu said on the 31st that the mainland's strong tourism austerity policy this time is a major warning to the Tsai administration's cross-strait policy. The DPP used to criticize mainland tourists for not having consumption power to travel to Taiwan and also putting a burden on the environment. In the past three years, the Tsai government has vigorously promoted the "new southward" policy, but has evolved into a bunch of subsidy plans.

In the view of the United Daily News, this move in the mainland is a policy and a trend, believing that "the mainland may take some action in the next six months." The newspaper said that on the one hand, on the eve of the "August 1" Army Day, the mainland announced its determination to crack down on "Taiwan independence", and on the other hand, it announced the suspension of personal trips to Taiwan. It is expected that the mainland will maintain strong pressure before Taiwan’s “general election” and will continue to take measures against Taiwan in the future. In addition to tourism cards, the mainland also has trade cards, financial cards, and economic cards to play, as well as putting pressure on the Tsai administration with its strong comprehensive national strength internationally.