China bans citizens from solo travel to Taiwan

BEIJING — Beijing has banned individuals free travel to Taiwan, amid what it says are rising cross-strait tensions.<br /><br />According to CNN, China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has announced that beginning August 1, solo tourists from 47 Mainland cities will no longer be allowed to travel to Taiwan.<br /><br />Nikkei Asian Review reports that Taiwan received over a million visitors from those cities last year, which accounts for 40% of Mainland arrivals.<br /><br />Only business travelers and tour groups will be allowed to visit Taiwan, according to the South China Morning Post.<br /><br />Several travel agents in China told Nikkei that they've stopped processing individual travel permits to Taiwan on Wednesday, following instructions from authorities.<br /><br />With the Chinese making up 30% of tourists in Taiwan in the first six months of this year, Gordon Sun, director of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, says the move will likely affect Taiwan's tourism industry.<br /><br />Popular destinations for Chinese tourists such as Nantou, Chiayi, and Hualien may be hit particularly hard.<br /><br />The ban comes weeks after the U.S. approved a controversial $2.2 billion arms deal with Taiwan — a move that Beijing opposed. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to New York in mid-July also angered China.<br /><br />According to Bloomberg, the ban may be yet another attempt to isolate both Taiwan and its independence-leaning president, as well as hurt her chances at re-election next January.