At the April 15 State Council Taiwan Affairs Office press conference, a reporter asked about National Immigration Administration data showing that, despite DPP restrictions on cross-Strait exchanges, Taiwan Compatriot Permit applications rose 11.8% year-on-year in Q1, while Taiwanese entries into mainland China rose 27.6% year-on-year.
TAO spokesperson Chen Binhua said this again proves that Taiwan’s mainstream public opinion favors “peace, development, exchanges, and cooperation.” He said the DPP authorities are ignoring public opinion and “moving against the tide,” and are therefore “doomed to fail.”
Chen said the mainland will continue to uphold the idea that “both sides of the Strait are one family,” follow the principles of “greater openness, maximum convenience, and greater security,” and actively promote cross-Strait travel and exchanges across various fields. He said the mainland welcomes Taiwanese people, especially young people, to take a spontaneous trip to the mainland, see the “magnificent mountains and rivers of the motherland,” and experience mainland development and what he called omnipresent familial warmth.
