The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan stated that cross-strait personnel exchanges are experiencing “more going than coming,” mainly because the mainland has not yet resumed allowing mainland students to study for degrees in Taiwan nor allowed mainland tourists to visit Taiwan for sightseeing. The MAC called on the mainland side to promptly respond to the invitation to engage in consultations on tourism issues through the “Mini-Two Meetings,” and to resume the admission of mainland students to study in Taiwan.
On the evening of the 19th, the MAC issued a press release stating that although the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office claimed that in the first half of this year, there were more than 2.5 million cross-strait personnel exchanges, according to Taiwan's own statistics, from January to July this year, visitors from the mainland to Taiwan numbered 357,000. After deducting 110,000 people who traveled to Kinmen and Matsu via the mini-three links, there were only about 240,000, clearly showing a situation in which “more go than come” in terms of cross-strait personnel exchanges.
The MAC said that the Taiwan side has opened up free independent travel to the mainland and has not restricted students from going to the mainland for exchanges. According to data from the mainland, it proves that most of the current cross-strait exchanges are Taiwanese people going to the mainland. “The mainland side is unwilling to consult with our side through the Mini-Two Meetings to open up tourism, and even prohibits mainland students from coming to Taiwan to study for degrees, leading to a huge gap in personnel exchanges between the two sides. Who is really blocking the exchanges? The numbers speak for themselves.”
The MAC reiterated that the government has always welcomed mainland students to study in Taiwan. Last year, there were only 1,556 mainland students studying for degrees in Taiwan. “Our Council has repeatedly called on the mainland side to lift the unilaterally imposed barriers and restrictions as soon as possible. Our Ministry of Education has also continued to communicate through the cross-strait admission liaison mechanism, hoping to resume the admission of mainland students to Taiwan as soon as possible. However, the mainland side has not yet given a positive response.”