Cross-Strait travel concerns unfounded, says mainland spokesperson

A spokesperson for the Chinese mainland said on Wednesday that Taiwan's "mainland affairs council" has become a "stumbling block" to cross-Strait exchanges through tactics such as intimidation and rumor-mongering.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks at a regular news conference in response to recent comments by Taiwan's "mainland affairs council" on a new regulation on exit and entry administration issued by the State Council, which will take effect on Sept 15.

Zhu said the regulation will help safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in their exchanges and create a better law-based environment for Taiwan compatriots visiting the mainland.

Taiwan's "mainland affairs council" recently claimed that the regulation could affect Taiwan residents who invest or work in the technology industries on the mainland and urged them to be alert to the purported "risks". These remarks have misled some Taiwan residents, prompting concerns about potential risks when traveling to and from the mainland.

Zhu reassured Taiwan residents that they have no need to worry about risks when traveling to the mainland. "The regulation aims to standardize exit and entry administration, protect the lawful rights and interests of people entering and leaving the country, and safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests," she said.

The regulation primarily improves the system for preventing and addressing security risks related to exits, stipulates that the reasons stated in exit and entry applications must be truthful and lawful, and regulates intermediary services for exit and entry, Zhu said.

Zhu criticized the Democratic Progressive Party authorities for deliberately spreading alarm with ulterior motives. "They have spared no effort to restrict and obstruct exchanges and interactions across the Taiwan Strait, and have tried every possible means to prevent people on both sides from visiting each other and maintaining close ties," she said.

She added that the DPP authorities have resorted to tactics including suppression, intimidation, and rumor-mongering, while the "mainland affairs council" has been at the forefront, becoming a "stumbling block" to cross-Strait exchanges and interactions.

In the first half of this year, visits by Taiwan residents to the mainland reached 2.85 million, up 24.9 percent year-on-year. Zhu said the figure represented the clearest response to the DPP authorities' efforts to restrict, limit, and obstruct cross-Strait exchanges.

"Faced with the unstoppable tide of cross-Strait exchanges, what the DPP authorities fear most is that the information cocoons they have created will continue to be punctured and the false 'Taiwan independence' narratives they have constructed will continue to be exposed," Zhu added.