The Chinese mainland will continue to facilitate travel and exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, a mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday, citing growing passenger traffic, rising tourism interest and measures to make visits more convenient for Taiwan residents.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks at a regular news conference, where she also rejected allegations by Taiwan's "mainland affairs council" regarding the safety of Taiwan residents visiting the mainland.
The "mainland affairs council" recently claimed that an increasing number of Taiwan residents had gone missing or been detained for questioning on the mainland, saying it would maintain its orange travel alert — the second-highest level — for the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.
The Democratic Progressive Party authorities have fabricated so-called missing-person data, concocted false information and spread rumors to smear the mainland, intimidate Taiwan compatriots, and disrupt and undermine normal cross-Strait exchanges and interactions, Zhu said.
She said the mainland is among the safest places in the world, adding that Taiwan residents who work, live and travel there have experienced its safety and quality of life firsthand.
The remarks came amid growing interest in individual travel to the mainland reported at a recent tourism fair in Taichung.
Zhu said the mainland has introduced a series of measures to make travel more convenient for Taiwan residents. These include waiving travel permit application fees for first-time visitors, allowing single-entry travel permits to be issued at 100 ports of entry, and offering free or discounted admission to most A-rated tourist attractions for first-time visitors.
She also noted growing interest among Taiwan travelers in cultural tourism, with more visitors exploring museums and exhibitions to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese history and culture.
Cross-Strait passenger traffic has continued to increase. According to the Gaoqi border inspection station in Xiamen, Fujian province, the Xiamen-Kinmen ferry routes handled more than 1.74 million passenger trips as of Oct 26, including nearly 1.4 million trips by Taiwan residents, accounting for about 80 percent of the total. Both figures have already surpassed their full-year totals for 2025, setting new annual records since services resumed in 2023.
More than 70,000 Taiwan residents entered the mainland through the routes for the first time this year, an increase of more than 70 percent year-on-year.
Zhu said the approximately 30-minute ferry journey, with 24 scheduled services daily, has made same-day travel between Xiamen and Kinmen convenient. Travel purposes have also expanded beyond family visits to include business, education, cultural exchanges and tourism.
Separately, Zhu welcomed a recent incident in Shanghai in which traffic police recovered and returned a handbag lost by a member of a Taiwan actor's team. She described the incident as heartwarming and encouraged more Taiwan residents, particularly young people, to visit the mainland and experience its development firsthand.
On economic exchanges, Zhu said the mainland would continue helping Taiwan farmers and fishermen expand their sales in its vast market.
Imports of fishery products from Taiwan rose 35.5 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, according to figures previously released by the Taiwan Affairs Office.
Zhu said the mainland would continue implementing the 10 measures introduced in April this year to promote cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, including support for Taiwan's agricultural and fishery products entering the mainland market.
She criticized the DPP authorities for placing obstacles in the way of agricultural cooperation, saying the mainland would continue helping Taiwan producers reach more consumers and share the benefits of cross-Strait economic integration.
