Beijing has extended three concessions to Taiwan following the KMT’s recent visit to China. First, it’s offered to donate prefabricated housing to earthquake-stricken Hualien. It’s also lifted an import ban on Taiwanese pomelos, and given the green light to Fujian for travel to Matsu. In response, the Executive Yuan said that the olive branch was a small step forward. But it emphasized that more communication was needed for healthy cross-strait exchanges.

During a visit to China, KMT Caucus Whip Fu Kun-chi met Wang Huning, chair of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Fu had called for a thaw in cross-strait relations. China responded by offering to donate prefabricated housing to Hualien, lifting its import ban on Taiwanese pomelos, and allowing tourism from Fujian to Matsu. The last concession met a lukewarm response from Taiwan’s transport ministry.

Wang Kwo-tsai
Transport minister
These regulatory changes are less than what we anticipated. Before the pandemic, people from all provinces of China were allowed to travel to Taiwan. Now they are letting residents from just one province visit Taiwan for tourism.

Lin Chun-hsien
DPP lawmaker
Cross-strait exchanges are not merely about economics. They are also determined by politics. A single political decision made unilaterally can kill all exchanges on the spot. That’s not something we want to see in the future.

The DPP lawmaker acknowledged that China’s regulatory easing was a positive move. But he said it was also important to have a system in place that prevents Beijing from unilaterally imposing bans and then lifting them. But a KMT lawmaker said the DPP was in no position to be so critical.

Cheng Cheng-chien
KMT lawmaker
This trip to the mainland was focused on tourism and agricultural and fisheries exports. The DPP should gather up courage to tackle the other issues, instead of watching our efforts and casting stones from the sidelines. That is not what responsible political parties do.

Cheng Wen-tsan
Vice premier
Due to the many obstacles that have been set in our path, we hope that cross-strait exchanges can be approached from the angle of mutual benefit, goodwill and cooperation. This is indeed a small step forward. We need to communicate more in the future to ensure that the steps we take to opening up to each other are beneficial for both sides of the strait.

Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan said more goodwill on both sides of the strait could pave the way for mutual trust. He stressed that cross-strait exchanges should be handled with care, to prevent China from taking advantage of Taiwan.

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