Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council says reopening the country to Chinese tourists is not a priority. The council said on Thursday that there are already opportunities for Chinese people to apply for business, study, and work visas to enter Taiwan.
Taiwan opened its borders to international tourism with visa-free entry for certain countries and ended the quarantine requirement on Thursday. China, Hong Kong, and Macau are not on the list of countries approved for visa-free entry.
The council says Taiwan still has a cap on the number of people who can enter the country every week, and it wants to make sure Taiwanese people around the world have priority for returning home. Taiwan and China will discuss the appropriate time to reopen borders based on each other's pandemic prevention measures.
The council says both sides will continue to monitor the pandemic's development and cross-strait relations. The council adds that the government will make a public announcement as soon as there are concrete arrangements to change travel rules between China and Taiwan.