China to resume some group tours to Taiwan By Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has begun preparations to resume group tours to Taiwan by residents of Shanghai and Fujian province in the near future, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Friday.

China and Taiwan have argued since the end of COVID-19 over when and how tourism from China to the island could resume, with each side accusing the other that it has not yet fully returned, adding to tensions between the two sides.

In his New Year’s press conference, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said he welcomed exchanges with China but wondered if there was goodwill from Beijing, given what he described as blocking simple things like tourism.

China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a brief statement that group tours would soon resume from Shanghai as well as from Fujian province, across the Taiwan Strait from the island.

It, however, did not specify a date for the resumption of travel.

This was done to further promote the normalization of people-to-people exchanges and “enhance the interests and well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Straits,” the ministry said.

There was no immediate response from Taiwan’s government, which rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the island.

Lai, whom Beijing calls a “separatist”, offered to hold talks with China, but was rejected.