Taiwan on Wednesday (7/2) ordered travel agencies to stop organizing group tours to China following Beijing's flight route changes that sparked anger on the self-ruled island.
Local authorities banned group travel to China in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the restrictions will be lifted after this month's Lunar New Year holiday.
However, the Taiwan Tourism Administration instructed travel agencies to stop organizing group tours starting Wednesday (7/2) because “the current situation is not conducive for people to go to mainland China”.
They cited Beijing's “unilateral” decision to reroute the M503 through the Taiwan Strait which they said “will impact aviation safety” as one of the reasons behind the decision.
The Taiwanese government also blamed China for not organizing group tours to Taiwan, following Beijing's 2019 ban on individual tourists traveling to the island.
“Considering the changing situation and general travel safety, we will not carry out the original plan” to resume group tours to China, Taiwan's tourism agency said in a statement.
The agency said groups that had been organized before Wednesday's announcement with departure dates between March 1 and May 31 were still allowed to travel as planned.
China, which claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, sparked criticism on the island when Beijing last week announced changes to the M503 flight route, also known as the southbound flight route, starting February 1.
China's civil aviation authority said the changes were aimed at improving efficiency in congested areas.
But Taipei warned that the move could affect stability in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, which separates the island and mainland China, and lead to increased tensions.
Beijing has vowed to seize Taiwan, by force if necessary, and has increased pressure on the island, holding several rounds of large-scale military exercises in the strait in recent years.
The M503 route sparked protests in Taiwan when China launched it in 2015, given its proximity to a median line that crosses the waterway.
The changes follow the election of independence-leaning Lai Ching-te in Taiwan in January, which Beijing branded a “grave danger”. (ab/lt)