Mainland students living in Hong Kong enjoy travelling to Taiwan after a visa policy change.
By Bliss Zhu
Studying in Hong Kong, university student Xie Guofan from Sichuan went to Taiwan this year for the first time in her life, as she takes advantage of a policy change which allows mainland Chinese staying in the city to apply for travel permits.
“Taiwan is very nice. The food and sightseeing are amazing. People there are very kind and welcoming,” Xie says.
“I felt surprised that a ticket agent rushed to help me when I was trying to buy a bus ticket at the airport. The staff helped me even though I didn’t ask for it. I felt so grateful. Without her help, I would have bought a wrong ticket,” she recalls.
“My homestay host in Hualien was also very nice. Knowing that we are mainlanders coming to Taiwan for the first time, he gave us travel tips about restaurants and some fun attractions including Qi Xing Tan and Taroko National Park,” the year three student says.
“Despite the political tension between Taiwan and Beijing, I don’t think the relationship between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese is affected at all,” she adds.
Mainland travellers used to take up around a quarter of about 11 million visitors to Taiwan in 2018 counting for the biggest group until a solo travel scheme was suspended due to cross-strait tensions in 2019. Group travel was suspended because of COVID-19 in 2020.
Under the current policy which was introduced on September 1, 2023, mainland Chinese living in a third country or region are eligible to apply for a permit to visit Taiwan.
Visas allowing one-time entry or multiple entries are available for application and cost NT $600 (US $18.47) and NT $1000 (US $30.78) respectively.
“I find many posts about permit applications to Taiwan on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu (The Little Red Book). I regret not applying for a visa for multiple entries, as I want to visit Taiwan again,” Xie says.
Another student Li Yixuan, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, went to Taiwan for the second time in September 2024.
The student from Beijing shares that she falls in love with Taipei after first visiting the city in March.
“I wish I could live there for the rest of my life if I have enough money. The living pace is very slow, and I enjoy walking in the streets. There are many old streets, where you can find a lot of museums and old bookshops,” the Mathematics and Internet Engineering major student says.
“The Taiwanese are very thoughtful and caring, which is better than those in mainland China and Hong Kong,” she adds.
She observes that many public facilities are designed to be wheel-chair friendly, such as having more ramps rather than stairs. There are many left-handed chairs in universities.
Li also finds the concept of gender equality prevalent in Taiwan, and the discussion of feminism is more popular than in mainland China and Hong Kong.
“There are many film festivals about women, feminist bookshops and feminism-related public discussions,” the year three student shares.
“Taiwan is also very acceptive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community, which is a taboo in the Mainland. I can find many LGBTQ-related research and books. I think Taiwanese pursue personal rights and civil democracy, so they care more about the rights of different groups. I think this makes the cultural industry in Taiwan more diverse,” Li adds.
Hong Kong university student Zhou Wenxiao from Henan also took advantage of the visa policy and flew to Taipei just to join the pride parade in 2024. This is her second visit to Taiwan.
“Being a journalism major student, I am always interested in parades. I have seen many parade-related press coverage and never seen so many sexual minorities in a rally. The feeling was foreign to me. I enjoyed it,” the year five student says.
Zhou recalls there were many half-naked men in the parade, and the homosexual male was the main focus.
Zhou points out that other non-governmental organisations (NGO) also attended the parade to campaign for their agenda, such as an NGO focusing on labour rights in developing countries.
“It is an opportunity to learn about people who are doing different things trying to change the world. That is appealing to me. I will go to Taiwan again for bookstores, parades and Taiwanese cuisine,” she says.
Edited by Cynthia Chan
Sub-edited by Molisa Meng
