China offers incentives to Taiwan following opposition leader’s visit

BEIJING: China on Sunday unveiled 10 new incentive measures for Taiwan, including easing tourist curbs, allowing in “healthy” television dramas and facilitating food sales, following a visit by the island’s opposition leader.

The move comes at the end of a trip to China by Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party. She met Chinese President Xi Jinping and talked about the need for peace and reconciliation.

The 10 measures, unveiled by the official Xinhua news agency, “explore” the establishment of a regular communication mechanism between the KMT and China’s Communist Party, the full resumption of flights between the two sides and permission for individuals from Shanghai and Fujian province to visit Taiwan.

A mechanism will be established to ease inspection standards for food and fishery products, but that has to be on the political foundation of “opposing Taiwan independence,” Xinhua said.

Taiwanese TV dramas, documentaries and animation will be allowed to be shown as long as they have “correct orientation, healthy content, and high production quality,” it added.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, which is in charge of the island’s China policy, said in a statement that Beijing’s so-called “unilateral concessions” are merely poisoned pills packaged as “generous gift packages.”

The Taiwanese government supports healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but they should not be subject to political preconditions or objectives, it said.

In a statement, the KMT welcomed China’s announcement, saying it was a “gift” to the people of Taiwan.

China refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist.” He rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims over the democratically governed island.

China and Taiwan have blamed each other for the lack of a resumption of large-scale Chinese tourism to the island since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taiwan has also previously complained about Chinese restrictions on imports of certain agricultural and aquatic products, saying China has in some cases used unjustified excuses to stop the spread of pests and diseases.