TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The likelihood of the Lai Ching-te (賴清德) administration approving Shanghai groups for tourism in Taiwan remains low, given the attitudes of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF, 海基會) during the forum's organization, a diplomacy professor analyzed on Tuesday (Dec. 17). Shanghai Vice Mayor Hua Yuan (華源) announced at the Twin-City Forum earlier that day that the city will resume group tours to Taiwan, marking a significant milestone in post-pandemic travel between the two sides.
In an interview with TVBS News, Huang Kwei-bo (黃奎博) from the National Chengchi University (政治大學) pointed out that the MAC stated cross-strait tourism normalization hinges on China halting military drills, ceasing aircraft and naval disturbances, stopping suppression of Taiwan in various fields. Huang noted that the "Taiwan wants independence, the Chinese Communist Party will use force" scenario continues to influence these conditions. He explained that the Lai administration's "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence" route clashes with the Chinese Communist Party's stance on unification by force.
Huang emphasized the economic benefits if Shanghai groups, with relatively high spending power, visit Taipei and other developed tourist areas in Taiwan. He cited a loss of approximately 2.5 million Chinese tourists and an estimated NT$115 billion in tourism revenue due to strained cross-strait relations. Despite the current low probability, Huang urged both industries to work towards improving cross-strait tourism for economic well-being.
