The Directorate General of Highways (DGH) says that a car with Mainland Chinese plates spotted in Taiwan was part of a cross-strait exchange activity.
The DGH statement came Wednesday after legislators for the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) requested that the DGH and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) submit a report on the legality of driving Chinese-registered cars on Taiwanese roads. TSU legislators have been concerned that allowing Mainland-registered vehicles on Taiwan’s roads could compromise national security.
The DGH said that the organizers of the exchange activity applied for and received special permission from the Bureau of Foreign Trade to bring the car into Taiwan. Cars that are permitted into Taiwan must have a temporary license plate before they are allowed on the roads.
Meanwhile, the MAC, Taiwan’s top China policymaker, responded to the TSU request for a report by saying that Chinese cars may only enter Taiwan with special permission. An official with the MAC said the large number of drivers in China and concerns about safety and national security mean there are no plans to open Taiwan’s roads to Chinese-registered cars.
The Bureau of Foreign Trade, which authorized organizers of the cross-strait exchange to bring the car from China, says that the exchange ended on Tuesday. The bureau said that the organizers of the event have one month to send the car back.