[Global Times special correspondent Chen Lifei Global Times reporter Zhao Juezhen] After optimizing the epidemic prevention measures, the mainland quickly resumed full customs clearance with Hong Kong, and at the same time opened some countries and regions for tourism.
In the eyes of Taiwan's tourism industry, these are simply envious. They have been eagerly hoping that the Taiwan authorities will allow mainland tourists to go to Taiwan, so as to inject vitality into the island's economy.
However, the Tsai Ing-wen authorities said that they are willing to communicate and dialogue with the mainland, but they obstructed the communication with various reasons.
"Do you think it's credible?"
Tsai Ing-wen stated in October last year that she "looks forward to the gradual restoration of healthy and orderly exchanges between people on both sides of the strait after the cross-strait border is unsealed, thereby easing the tension in the Taiwan Strait."
On January 31 this year, Taiwan's "Minister of Communications" Wang Guocai also said that from the standpoint of the "Ministry of Communications", "I quite welcome mainlanders."
The Tourism Bureau estimates that 6 million international tourists will come to Taiwan this year, of which 1 million will be mainland tourists.
The words are nice, but they are quickly revealed.
On February 1, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Mainland, stated that the mainland sent a letter to Taiwan in accordance with the "Air Transport Agreement between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait" and hoped to resume cross-strait direct air routes and 16 destinations.
"Wang Pao" stated that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to resume "meaningful dialogue" between the two sides of the strait, and it is also the long-awaited result of Taiwan society.
The article believes that Beijing’s desire to resume flights through the existing channels between the two sides of the strait is more likely to mean that it intends to resume mainland tourists visiting Taiwan on the basis of resuming non-governmental exchanges between the two sides of the strait. The Taiwan Strait war in 2024 is the most direct and powerful rebuttal".
The tourism industry on the island has also assessed that with the current passenger load factor of the cross-strait routes less than 50%, the mainland's proposal "may be a starting point for resuming cross-strait tourism."
Regrettably, after the Taiwan authorities confirmed the receipt of the letter from the mainland, they once again brought out the tactic of kicking the ball.
The Civil Aviation Administration of Taiwan stated that it is "under discussion"; the Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council Qiu Taisan said that not only 16 flight points will be restored, but he hopes that the mainland will make the epidemic more public.
Wang Guocai said that the boarding rates of the four currently open destinations are all below 50%, and the number of destinations will be increased to 16 at one time. Some routes may not be taken by people.
"Economic Daily" stated that Wang Guocai's words seem to be very reasonable, but when it comes to traffic volume, the main reason is that Taiwan has restrictions on mainland passengers coming to Taiwan, so the passenger load factor of the four destinations is less than 50%, that is, It is said that the ban on mainland passengers going to Taiwan should be lifted first, and then the destinations that have been suspended due to the epidemic should be restored, because as long as there are passengers and business opportunities, the airline will naturally apply for the flight, and there is no need to worry about adding destinations and increasing flights for the airline. After that there will be no passengers.
Let’s talk about the “Mini Three Links”. After being closed for nearly three years, it will finally be conditionally restarted before the Spring Festival this year. It will last for one month, but it is only applicable to Taiwanese citizens or mainland spouses with Golden Horse household registration, and general Taiwanese businessmen are not included.
Faced with the demands of Taiwanese businessmen for the full opening of the "miniature three links", the Mainland Affairs Council announced the so-called "normalization plan" on February 4. The result is still limited to Golden Horse household registration, which greatly disappointed Taiwanese businessmen.
At a regular press conference on February 8, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, criticized that since last year, the MAC has repeatedly stated that it will gradually resume healthy and orderly exchanges of personnel between the two sides of the strait, but this is just empty talk. The DPP authorities still impose restrictions on people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao to go to Taiwan. ” sarcastically said, it’s no wonder that Taiwanese businessmen are so angry that they can’t speak. Chen Yuzhen, a Kinmen “legislator”, even scolded the Mainland Affairs Council for using terminology to deceive the people of Kinmen. Deliberately fooling around?" And Wang Guocai, who is dreaming of millions of Chinese tourists, didn't have to waste his energy, "Go to bed early, there is everything in the dream."
Zheng Boyu, vice president of the Beijing Taiwan Association Youth Association who has long been concerned about cross-strait exchanges, told the "Global Times" reporter on the 13th that the mainland has released enough goodwill, but it is not a day or two for the DPP to ignore public opinion.
Zheng Boyu, who recently returned to Taiwan for the Chinese New Year, said that under the manipulation of the DPP authorities, there is less and less real information about the mainland on the island, and more and more smears and distortions. "The DPP does not want to fully resume cross-strait exchanges. Because this will expose the false information and tear up the DPP's 'fig leaf'."
"The most tragic career in years"
In June 2008, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan Straits Exchange Foundation negotiated and signed the "Agreement on Mainland Residents Traveling to Taiwan across the Taiwan Straits" in Beijing.
Afterwards, the number of pilot cities for independent travel gradually increased, and the upper limit of the daily application quota for going to Taiwan was adjusted from 1,000 to 2,000 from April 2013.
According to the data of Taiwan's "Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications", from July 18, 2008 when mainland tourists came to Taiwan for sightseeing, until the end of May 2011, the total number of mainland tourists to Taiwan exceeded 3.5 million, among which those who applied for sightseeing purposes There are about 2.35 million mainland group tourists.
In 2010, Chinese visitors to Taiwan contributed a total of NT$61.8 billion to Taiwan’s GDP, contributing as much as 0.28% to the overall economic growth rate.
In the first three quarters of 2015, the per capita consumption of mainland tourists was US$232.15, higher than that of Japanese tourists at US$221.45.
Since the Taiwan authorities refused to recognize the "1992 Consensus", cross-strait relations have taken a turn for the worse. From August 1, 2019, the mainland announced the suspension of free travel to Taiwan.
In January 2020, the Taiwan authorities announced the suspension of reception of mainland tourist groups on the grounds of the epidemic.
Statistics show that before the epidemic, more than 10 million tourists came to Taiwan, and more than 90% of them were tourists from Asia. Among them, the mainland ranked first with 2.714 million people, followed by Japan with 2.167 million people. Three Hong Kong and Macau had 1.758 million passengers.
Deng Zhewei, a senior Taiwanese traveler, told the "Global Times" reporter on the 13th that the current tourists to Taiwan are mainly ASEAN, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc., followed by Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
But on the whole, the overseas tourist market is still quite sluggish, with only a few individual tourists and not many group tourists.
He bluntly said that the arrival of mainland tourists in Taiwan has had a "very, very big impact" on the tourism industry. It has already caused many travel agencies to close down, and tens of thousands of employees have changed jobs. "Tourism has become the most tragic business in recent years."
Even if the epidemic is over, if tourists from mainland China still cannot come to Taiwan, the tourism industry will still experience a "cold winter" in the future.
Deng Zhewei said that the consumption power of mainland tourists in Taiwan is unmatched by any country or region.
At the same time, the two sides of the strait share the same language, share the same language, and have special feelings for each other. Many mainland tourists will regard Taiwan as a must-see itinerary. Therefore, the mainland is the most important tourist source area for Taiwan. All tourism operators are eagerly looking forward to Taiwan's opening up of mainland tourists to Taiwan. This is not only a shot in the arm, but also a steady stream of powerful water, which will allow the entire tourism industry in Taiwan to take off."
Open the door to welcome mainlanders, stay away from crisis
Some Taiwanese media calculated the "2018 Passenger Consumption and Trend Survey" released by the "Ministry of Communications": the average daily consumption of tourists from mainland China to Taiwan is NT$6,383, which is higher than the overall average of NT$5,781, that is, for every additional mainland Visitors to Taiwan for one day can bring an extra 602 yuan in consumption; plus mainland tourists stay an average of 7.11 nights, which is 0.65 nights more than the average of 6.46 nights.
In other words, for every missing mainland tourist, even if it is filled by tourists from other regions, Taiwan’s tourism industry will still earn NT$993.3 less.
In an interview with the Global Times on the 13th, Lin Deren, president of the Taiwan Sightseeing Tour Guide Association, also said that tens of thousands of tour guides and tour leaders on the island are looking forward to the resumption of exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. "Without exchanges, we will have no jobs."
Take the travel agency he works for as an example. In the past three years, the number of employees has decreased from two to three hundred to twenty or thirty, and the reduction in the number of employees of other travel agencies has also reached 70%.
He has been calling for the resumption of cross-strait exchanges, including tourism, but the key is for the DPP authorities to recognize the "1992 Consensus."
According to the results of an online poll launched by Yahoo.com a few days ago, 41% of the respondents support the opening of mainland tourists to Taiwan.
For the people on the island, the opening up of mainland tourists to Taiwan has another meaning, which is to improve cross-strait relations.
A comment published in the China Times Electronic News stated that in the "nine-in-one" election last year, the people on the island had already expressed their distrust and dissatisfaction with the authorities. Now that the world is welcoming mainland tourists, there is no reason for us to reject them and not make money from their tourism.
"United Daily News" published an editorial on the 12th, saying that the focus of cross-strait dialogue and post-epidemic exchanges is action. If it is just propaganda, it will soon be seen through.
"Open the door to welcome mainlanders, stay away from the crisis in the Taiwan Strait", "Wang Bao" commented on this topic, saying that the wider the door for cross-strait non-governmental exchanges is opened, the safer the Taiwan Strait will be in 2023.
Because all fools know, "If there are passenger planes full of mainland tourists and business people shuttling over the two sides of the strait every day, and if the streets and scenic spots in Taiwan are crowded with mainland tourists, how can the mainland fight Taiwan? How can there be a war between the two sides? How can there be a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait ? Faced with such a clear vision of cross-strait peace, what is the Tsai government waiting for?"