• Beijing’s decision to ban solo travel to Taiwan from 47 cities is not guaranteed to sway voters or lead to a reversal of policies
• It may even worse anti-Beijing sentiment among Taiwanese

South China Morning Post
Date: 3 Aug, 2019

Beijing has any number of reasons for banning individual travellers from visiting Taiwan. The island’s leader, Tsai Ing-wen, is campaigning for re-election in January and has stepped up criticism of mainland authorities, reaching out to the United States and other countries for support, and backed Hong Kong’s protesters, even saying she would consider granting them asylum.

These are provocative actions and it was inevitable that a tough response would come from the other side of the Taiwan Strait. But restricting tourist numbers can be a double-edged sword and the consequences have to be monitored and if necessary, reconsidered.

The poor state of relations with the island was the reason given for ending the issuing of permits to solo travellers from 47 cities.    [FULL  STORY]