Overseas edition of People's Daily, Taipei, January 19th. On January 17th, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that it would resume group tours for residents of Fujian and Shanghai to Taiwan in the near future. All work is under active preparation. All walks of life on the island expressed warm welcome, believing that this is good news that all walks of life on the island, especially the tourism industry, have been looking forward to, and called on the DPP authorities to actively respond to the goodwill of the mainland, lift the unpopular "group ban order" as soon as possible, and allow cross-strait exchanges to return to normal as soon as possible.

The Kuomintang of China calls on the DPP authorities to face up to the demands of Taiwanese society for the resumption of tourism and exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, accelerate the removal of various unnecessary obstacles, and return cross-strait relations to peace and stability. The Kuomintang issued a press release stating that sightseeing tourism can cultivate common emotions and increase goodwill to each other through face-to-face contact and direct life experience of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and can also make the benefits of cross-strait exchanges universally and effectively maintain peace and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait.

Former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou highly affirmed the mainland's further promotion of the normalization of cross-strait personnel exchanges and the normalization of exchanges in various fields. He said through social media that this is in line with the interests and well-being of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It is very important positive news for the Taiwanese people who are enthusiastic about cross-strait exchanges and the travel industry friends who have been working hard since the epidemic. He suggested that the Taiwan authorities lift the "orange warning" and "group ban" order for Taiwan to travel to the mainland as soon as possible, and restore the cross-strait direct flights before the epidemic; for the interests of the Taiwanese people, handle cross-strait relations prudently and let cross-strait relations return to the right track of peaceful development.

Former Chinese Kuomintang Chairman Hung Hsiu-chu posted on social media that he was deeply pleased with the mainland's announcement that it would resume team tours from residents in Fujian and Shanghai to Taiwan, and was happy to see it. This move not only responds to the common expectations of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait for exchanges, but also a concrete practice of the concept of "one family on both sides of the Taiwan Strait". She called on the DPP authorities to put aside their confrontational mentality, adapt to public opinion, and create a new situation for cross-strait peace and development.

Mayors of many counties and cities in Taiwan, tourism industry associations or group leaders have spoken out about their expectations for the recovery of cross-strait tourism and called on the Taiwan authorities to lift relevant restrictions. Taipei Mayor Jiang Wanan said that he hopes that this time the DPP authorities can hear the people’s voices and receive this kind olive branch. Taipei City is happy to see its success and is ready.

Xiao Boren, chairman of the Taiwan Cross-Strait Travel Development Association, said that the mainland has shown sincerity and hopes that the DPP authorities will respond positively and not oppose the industry anymore. Recently, many hotels and travel agencies on the island have gone bankrupt. Mainland tourists come to Taiwan not only benefit the tourism industry, but also drive the development of the entire tourism industry chain.

"Taiwanese industry and business circles have repeatedly publicly called on the cross-strait to resume normal exchanges, which is good news that the industry on the island has been long-awaited for!" Lai Zhengyi, honorary chairman of the Taiwan Business Association, said that Fujian and Shanghai were both the main sources of mainland residents' travel to Taiwan, which can bring long-awaited development opportunities and business opportunities to the industry. He said that in 2024, more than 4 million Taiwanese people visited the mainland, but only more than 300,000 mainlanders came to Taiwan. This is not the norm that the cross-strait tourism industry should have, and many Taiwanese tourism operators have a very hard life. I hope this time the DPP authorities can open their minds and actively respond to the kindness expressed by the mainland. We also hope that Taiwan can open up boldly and announce the full opening of mainland tourists to Taiwan for sightseeing and tourism, so that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait can resume the previous grand exchanges.

"This is exciting news for the tourism industry." Bao Lei, chairman of Taiwan Yuanlong Travel Agency, believes that this will inject new vitality into Taiwan's tourism industry and promote the recovery of Taiwan's tourism market. The various restrictions of the DPP authorities have had a great impact on Taiwan's tourism industry, and the transportation, accommodation, catering, insurance and other industries related to the tourism industry and many practitioners have suffered. I hope the DPP authorities' "ban on the League" can be lifted as soon as possible. She said that many travelers have already taken the initiative to prepare for Fujian and Shanghai group tourists to Taiwan. "We have designed in-depth tour routes including exploring cultural attractions such as the Palace Museum in Taipei, experiencing night market food, and hope to bring an unforgettable Taiwan travel experience to mainland friends."

Taiwan's China Times published a comment titled "Don't obstruct" by the Mainland Affairs Council, pointing out that it said, "the position of "welcoming mainland tourists to Taiwan to visit remains unchanged", but it continues to create obstacles. The Mainland Affairs Council is simply a stumbling block to cross-strait exchanges. Taiwan’s United Daily News published a signed comment that this is a good opportunity for Taiwan to strive for mainland China’s objective tourism, but will Taiwan consider the livelihood of tourism operators and generously accept the olive branch that the mainland has shown? The article said that since the mainland has expressed its opening up to Fujian, Shanghai and Taiwan, the people of Taiwan have used the most enthusiastic and direct methods to make mainland tourists like and fall in love with Taiwan. (Reporter Cheng Long)