BEIJING -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday said that the mainland would continue to make it easier for Taiwan compatriots to visit, urging the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to remove obstacles to cross-Strait exchanges.

It is a shared aspiration of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to expand exchanges and deepen cooperation, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a press conference.

According to data from the National Immigration Administration, 994,000 travel permits have been issued for Taiwan residents to visit the mainland this year. Additionally, a total of 2.96 million entries have been made by Taiwan individuals into the mainland, a year-on-year increase of 68.4 percent.

The data shows that the mainstream opinion in Taiwan society continues to prioritize peace, development, exchange, and cooperation with the mainland, said Zhu.

To attract Taiwan tourists, many mainland attractions are offering incentives to them. Following promotional activities for Taiwan tourists at over 1,200 mainland attractions, an increasing number of sites are now offering free admission within a year to Taiwan visitors who obtain their travel permits for the first time.

So far, nearly 2,500 mainland attractions have launched promotions for first-time Taiwan visitors.

To facilitate exchanges between people across the Strait, the mainland has increased the number of ferry services between Fujian and Taiwan this year. There are currently 210 ferry trips each week on routes from Mawei to Matsu, Huangqi to Matsu, Quanzhou to Kinmen, and Xiamen to Kinmen. As of Oct 19, the passenger volume for these routes has exceeded one million this year.

Since 2020, the DPP authorities have used the COVID-19 epidemic as an excuse to ban mainland residents from traveling to Taiwan and have also suspended the operation of group tours to the mainland by travel agencies on the island, said Zhu, urging the DPP authorities to lift restrictions on cross-Strait exchanges.