Unable to follow the normal channels, they can only go through the gray area, and Taiwan travel agencies complained that the mainland group was obstructed by the Taiwan authorities
Zhang Ruo, a special correspondent of the Global Times, is not allowed to carry out tour groups to the mainland, and many travel agencies in Taiwan have had to open some "gray groups" -- group groups to the mainland in the name of traveling with relatives and friends in order to make ends meet. However, these group members do not have the contractual protection they deserve, which makes it difficult for them to get the assistance they deserve in the event of an accident.
According to Taiwan's "United Daily News" reported on the 29th, there have been tourists who have traveled to the mainland recently encountered traffic accidents, although Taiwan's "Ministry of Communications Tourism Administration" later explained that the group is a group of relatives and friends invited by the travel agency itself, which belongs to the category of independent travel, but in fact, there are not a few such tour groups that wander in the gray area. An anonymous Taiwanese travel operator revealed that most of these tour groups travel in the name of family and friend groups or activities organized by associations and government agencies, and the tourist destinations are mainly the mainland, and most of the participants are middle-aged and elderly people. In addition to neighbors sharing with each other, most of the operators are anonymous through social media groups, and most of them will confirm with tourists in advance to avoid spot checks by the "Tourism Department". According to the company, because it cannot follow the normal channels to organize a group to go to China, there is usually no travel contract liability insurance, and it is impossible to follow the consumer protection system in the event of a consumer dispute. In the event of an accident, it is impossible to seek assistance from the Taiwan Travel Association through the complete emergency rescue system.
According to statistics from Taiwan's "Tourism Administration," as of September this year, the largest destination for people on the island to leave the country was Japan, with more than 9 million people, followed by the mainland, with 300.117 million people. The fundamental reason for the emergence of tour groups wandering in the gray zone is that the DPP authorities have imposed political restrictions on cross-strait tourism. Hsiao Bo-jen, chairman of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Travel Business Association, said that the DPP authorities prohibit travel operators from organizing groups to go to the mainland, but they cannot prohibit tourists who want to go. Yao Daguang, chairman of Taiwan's Cross-Strait Travel Development Association, said that this will only lead to more tour groups that "sell dog meat on sheep's heads". Li Qiyue, chairman of the China Quality Tourism Development Association, also said that it has been a year since Taiwan opened its borders, and it is very unfair that it cannot organize a group to travel to the mainland. According to statistics, the mainland accounts for about 2% of the Taiwanese outbound tourism market, and in 2019 alone, more than 400 million people traveled to the mainland from Taiwan, and more than 4000,<> travel agencies in Taiwan operated the mainland market.
Taiwan media recalled that the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council announced on May 5 the resumption of Taiwanese group tourism, and Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council claimed on August 19 that it would resume the gradual opening up plan for cross-strait tourism, and first open Taiwan groups to the mainland, with a daily limit of 8,24 people in the initial period of land passenger groups coming to Taiwan. In response, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said that the DPP authorities should use the so-called "principle of reciprocity" to control the number of tourists on both sides of the strait, and have demanded that Taiwan's tourism associations establish a mechanism for regulating and controlling the number of tourists going to the mainland.
United News Network said on the 28th that the Tsai Ing-wen authorities, for the sake of political calculations, put the people's well-being and rights and interests under the interests of the party, and all of them were bumped-off by the above-mentioned accidents. "United Daily News" quoted experts on the 29th as saying that the emergence of such illegal tour groups means that there is demand in the tourism market, and instead of allowing operators to engage in illegal activities, it is better to open up, actively manage, and use political factors to prevent Taiwanese from going to the mainland for sightseeing, which only reduces the people's guarantee for traveling abroad. Chen Jiayu, an associate professor at the Department of Tourism Studies at Shih Hsin University in Taiwan, said that from the number of tourists leaving the country this year, it can be seen that although there is still a "ban on group groups", there are still many tourists going to the mainland, which means that there is such a trend and demand in the market. Kuomintang "legislator" Li Dewei said that this policy concerns the rights and interests of the Taiwan people, but the DPP has been unable to improve its ideology and failed cross-strait policy, and it can be said that the policy kills people.
Some Taiwan media commented that since the beginning of 2020, the DPP authorities have adopted a series of prohibitive measures, such as prohibiting mainland residents from going to Taiwan, unilaterally closing the "mini three links", canceling cross-strait direct flights on a large scale, and prohibiting travel agencies on the island from carrying out tourism business to the mainland. Those in charge of politics should conform to the will of the people and enhance cross-strait religious, academic, tourism, and cultural exchanges, which will be conducive to mutual understanding and communication between the people on both sides of the strait, especially the needs of the people concerned and the vitality of industries, and should not be used as a bargaining chip for political confrontation with the other side. If the Tsai authorities insist on punishing Taiwan's business owners and people to carry out the so-called "anti-China and anti-China" activities, it will not only be stupid, but also cruel to the people, and unscrupulous to the extreme.