Taiwan Denies Entry to Mainland Chinese Tourism Delegation; MAC Calls for Official Channel Coordination

Taipei, June 24 (CNA) — The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of Taiwan announced today that applications from tourism operators in Shanghai and Fujian to conduct inspection tours in Taiwan have been rejected. The MAC reiterated that such inspections must be coordinated through the established 'Small Two-Way Tourism Meetings'—the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association and the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Strait.

The MAC stated that it had formally notified the mainland side in February last year that tourism inspection tours must be facilitated through these official channels. Because the mainland side bypassed these channels and attempted to arrange inspections directly through private Taiwanese tourism associations, the MAC warned that this would lead to administrative disorder. Consequently, the council stated it 'cannot accommodate' the mainland's unilateral decision to organize these trips.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, responded that these inspection tours are standard industry practices intended to align dining, accommodation, and itinerary logistics. He criticized the requirement for official coordination as a form of 'political manipulation' and 'artificial obstruction.'