Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) announced to the Legislature on Thursday that tourist groups bound for China that were planned before June 1 may still go. Originally such groups were banned after June, however, the decision was made to protect the travel rights of groups unable to leave before May.
Travel between the two countries remains a fraught subject. China stopped independent travel to Taiwan in 2019, group travel in 2020. Both bans are still in effect. For its part, Taiwan has also not yet lifted its COVID-era restrictions for most Chinese visitors and only allows independent travel, not Taiwanese travel agency group tours, to China.
Cho said that Taiwan’s policy towards Chinese tourists remains unchanged. He stated both sides must reinstate reciprocal tourism as a first step, with the goal that China would make good-faith efforts to contribute to the restoration of cross-strait peace and exchange.