Cross-Straits holiday rush runs smoothly

The mainland is making every effort to ensure that Taiwan compatriots living on the mainland are able to return home for Chinese New Year during the Spring Festival travel rush, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday.

Fujian province, where many Taiwan compatriots live and also an important transit point for Taiwan compatriots on the mainland to return home, has made extra efforts to facilitate the travel rush across the Straits.

Sea passenger transport between Fujian and Taiwan during the holiday is expected to carry 220,000 people, up 3 percent year-on-year, according to the Taiwan Affairs Office.

Apart from Xiamen Airlines' 72 regular weekly flights between Fujian and Taiwan, the carrier will add an additional 110 flights during the holiday period.

The extra flights are from Xiamen, Fuzhou and Quanzhou of Fujian, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province and Changsha, Hunan province, with service to Taipei and Kaohsiung on the island.

During the travel rush, Xiamen Airlines is also presenting gifts, including red envelopes, commemorative coins and boxed candies to passengers.

Other airlines from both sides of the Straits are also increasing flights in the region during the holiday period.

Starting from the end of 2018, Taiwan residents have been permitted to book mainland train tickets online without mainland-registered mobile phone numbers, and they no longer need to appear at station windows for document checks.

Recently, authorities on the island have been strictly inspecting pork products brought by mainland passengers to Taiwan at ports of entry to prevent the spread of African swine fever to the island.

In response, Ma said the outbreak is in control, and the mainland has also been more widely informing visitors to Taiwan who want to bring in pork products.

The mainland's civil aviation authority told airlines operating flights across the Straits to tighten controls over pork products and provide updated information to passengers. Customs authorities have also strengthened inspections at ports and airports.