In a move that has been touted as 'anti Taiwanese', China has made several changes to its tourism policy regarding Taiwan - potentially causing severe problems for the Taiwanese industry. These changes allegedly came into effect after pro-independence leader Tsai Ing-wen won the island's presidential election earlier this year.

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According to Taiwanese media, since the end of January's elections, Chinese authorities have placed a quota on outbound tourists to Taiwan. This has reportedly resulted in a sharp 40 percent decline of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan. The Chinese government has also reportedly suspended 80 percent of tour packages to Taiwan.      

Restrictions have also been imposed on Taiwanese tourists visiting China. Taiwan tourists now can visit only four cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Guangzhou - as opposed to 47 cities before the election. Experts say this is likely to also affect China as the country sees a large number of Taiwanese tourists each year.

There is a little doubt, however, that Taiwan's tourism industry will feel the full brunt of the recent restrictions. Until a few months ago, twas witnessing a boom in Chinese tourists. The surge in Chinese tourists was the result of the fact that both countries had permitted free travel since 2012.         

The latest changes to China's tourism policy towards Taiwan may be an indication of how the Communist Party intends to deal with Tsai and her new government. China has cautioned the new Taiwanese government to abandon all quests for independence and maintain the foundations of mutually beneficial relations developed under the leadership of outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou.

China considers Taiwan an integral part of its country, which is waiting for unification after a separation in 1949. Taiwan, on other hand, claims to be a sovereign state and continuously seeks support from the international community to assert its freedom from China.  

TagsTaiwan, Taiwan's Tourism Industry