DPP authority creates obstacles for cross-Strait marriages: mainland spokesperson

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday slammed Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority for creating obstacles to marriages across the Taiwan Strait.

Last year saw significantly fewer cross-Strait marriages registered in Taiwan, which is abnormal, said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

"That is more the result of the DPP authority' political manipulations than a direct consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak," she said. The DPP authority has suspended all visits to Taiwan by mainland residents since February last year, and canceled a large number of direct flights between the two sides.

Zhu urged the DPP authority to comply with mainstream public opinions on both sides, and called for normal people-to-people exchanges across the Strait.

According to data released by the Taiwan authority, cross-border marriage registration on the island dropped 50.1 percent in 2020 from 2019, with newly registered spouses from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao declining by over 60 percent in number. Enditem