TAIPEI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Following the mainland's recent rollout of a policy package aimed at boosting exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan, there are growing calls on the island for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to adopt a positive and cooperative stance, in contrast to their current negativity and obstruction of dialogue.
The mainland announced the package of 10 policies and measures on April 12, at the end of a six-day visit by a Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party delegation led by its chairwoman Cheng Li-wun.
Key measures welcomed by Taiwan's public and various sectors include promoting the full resumption of regular direct passenger flights across the Taiwan Strait, promoting the resumption of individual travel to Taiwan for residents of Shanghai and Fujian, and facilitating the entry of food products from qualified Taiwan manufacturers into the mainland market.
On April 20, the General Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan convened representatives from seven industry groups, including tourism, hospitality and food sectors, to express support for the measures and call on the DPP authorities to prioritize industrial development and people's livelihoods, instead of obstructing cross-Strait economic exchanges.
Paul Hsu, chairman of the chamber, said the DPP authorities should not seek to silence industry voices; instead, they should facilitate policies that support economic development.
According to Hsiao Han-chun, director of Taiwan's farmers' association, measures in the package to facilitate the entry of Taiwan's agricultural and fishery products into the mainland market, the largest one in the world, will be an "absolute benefit" for farmers on the island.
Access to the mainland market will help ease the pressures on Taiwan's farmers, who have expressed concern over the United States dumping agricultural goods in Taiwan since the start of the tariff war, he said.
A recent survey conducted by Taiwan-based news channel TVBS after Cheng's mainland visit found that 66 percent of respondents support resuming cross-Strait consultations and negotiations, which remain largely suspended.
The Taiwan question is a scar left over from a full-blown civil war fought between forces led by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the KMT about eight decades ago. In 1949, remnants of the defeated KMT retreated to Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China was founded under the leadership of the CPC.
The unresolved civil war and foreign interference have left the two sides of the Strait in a prolonged state of political confrontation. But it does not change the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.
However, cross-Strait relations deteriorated after the DPP came to power in Taiwan in 2016 and stepped up plots to seek "Taiwan independence."
The DPP authorities reacted negatively to the mainland's latest policy package. In response to the policies to promote exchanges in the agricultural sector, the DPP authorities claimed that Taiwan is diversifying its export markets. However, data suggest the effectiveness of such efforts remains in doubt.
Taking pineapple exports as an example, despite massive promotion efforts, Taiwan's annual exports to Japan remain at more than 10,000 tonnes, with even smaller volumes to the U.S. and European markets. These figures fall drastically short of the roughly 50,000 tonnes previously exported to the mainland market.
Regarding the resumption of passenger flights, another closely watched measure in the package, the DPP authorities claimed that current demand for direct cross-Strait passenger flights is "not as strong as expected."
The assumption was met with widespread skepticism from netizens, who posted sharp criticism on social media. "Talking nonsense! If airlines from Taiwan choose not to operate the routes, while those from the mainland are willing to, what does it have to do with you even if they incur losses?" said one post. Another argued, "You should just take the step to resume direct flights! Just let the airlines make their own decisions."
Ringo Lee, chairman of the High Quality of Travel Association in Taiwan, noted that direct passenger flights currently operating between 14 mainland cities and Taiwan have maintained high load factors, which means that existing routes are far from sufficient to meet passenger demand, compared with routes connecting more than 50 mainland cities with Taiwan at peak before COVID-19.
Industries also believe the island's authorities should take the chance offered by the mainland to resume individual tours to Taiwan, which have been suspended since 2019.
Tang Yu-shu, former director of the Hualien County government's tourism department, said she hopes the favorable policies outlined in the package will be put into practice, noting that this will require efforts from both sides of the Strait.
"We hope that the authorities will not let favorable policies offered by the mainland become weapons for political parties to attack," she said.
Hualien relies heavily on tourism as one of the most scenic regions on the island, but the local industry has been going through a sluggish period.
At the Qixingtan Beach, one of the main scenic spots in Hualien, visitor numbers were 358,000 in 2025, just 26 percent of the peak seen 10 years ago when arrivals from the mainland were at their height, according to data from local authorities.
Hsiao Ching-tien, chief of the Taiwan Tourist Hotel Association, noted that mainland visitors usually spent about a week traveling around Taiwan. "Resuming individual travel will provide a strong boost to the tourism and hotel industries," he said.
Chang Chuan-han, deputy chairperson of the Hotel Association in Taiwan, believes that the island's hotel occupancy rate, currently at about 50 percent, could rise as much as 15 percentage points if individual tours by mainland visitors are resumed.
On her arrival in Taipei after concluding the visit on April 12, Cheng Li-wun told the media that the KMT would establish a working team to facilitate the implementation of the preferential policies, adding that she hoped the public would see and feel the benefits from cross-Strait peaceful development.
Despite the DPP authorities labeling the preferential policies as "sugar-coated poison" and "infiltration," multiple media commentaries said people had been tired of such repeated smears.
"People on both sides of the Strait have never lost their desire for peace," said a commentary by Taiwan's United Daily News, stressing that peace must be built gradually through exchanges and mutual trust across all fields.
The commentary noted that while the DPP authorities are angered by what Cheng brought back from the visit, the public has seen the possibility for peaceful development. "If the DPP continues down the path towards conflicts, it will eventually be abandoned by the people." ■
