DPP authorities block mainland academic groups’ visits ‘with no goodwill, sincerity in exchanges’

Scheduled visits to Taiwan Island by two academic delegations from Xiamen University on the Chinese mainland were blocked by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for "technical reasons," Taiwan-based media udn.com said on Friday.

Taiwan authorities have postponed the trips on the eve of the visits, saying the application review had not been passed, claiming that it will be postponed to October, udn.com said. The "mainland affairs council" on the island said the cases are currently being examined and handled by the relevant authorities according to procedures. 

Zhang Wensheng, deputy dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University, confirmed the planned visits and the DPP authorities' decision to block them to the Global Times on Friday, saying that it still remains doubtful whether the trip can be made in October. 

The Xiamen University delegations have completed the preparations in terms of formalities and materials, but related "security authorities" in Taiwan have put a "a technical hold" in place while they carry out a review, Zhang said. 

The General Administration of Customs has decided to resume the import of Wendan pomelo from Taiwan starting September 2. In addition, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on August 30 that the mainland will soon resume allowing residents in East China's Fujian Province to travel to Taiwan's Kinmen county.

As the mainland continues to show goodwill, it seems that the DPP authorities are not willing to reciprocate with the same goodwill, Zhang said. 

"In the aftermath of COVID-19, the mainland has adopted an open attitude toward cross-Straits exchanges, with many scholars from Taiwan region being able to come to the mainland to attend seminars smoothly," Zhang said, "many Taiwan scholars also hope that the DPP authorities will open up exchange channels, but its restrictive measures have only been disappointing."