Taiwan’s tourism bureau will not put restrictions on Taiwanese travelers headed to China. That was the word from tourism chief Chou Yung-hui at the legislature on Monday. Chou was responding to a question from DPP legislator Cheng Pao-ching. Cheng said that China had restricted its citizens from visiting Taiwan and asked whether Taiwan should respond in kind.
China implemented its travel ban in August with little warning. The ban prohibits travelers from visiting Taiwan unless they are part of a tour group. In September, China then cut the tour group numbers by half.
The DPP’s Cheng Pao-ching says that 4.18 million Taiwanese traveled to China last year, whereas only 2.7 million Chinese came to Taiwan. He says that looking at the numbers, perhaps retaliatory measures are warranted.
Tourism head Chou Yung-hui responded by saying: “When others are wrong, we cannot follow suit.”