10.02.2023
In early January this year, South Korea imposed entry restrictions on China, which aroused strong dissatisfaction in China. Now, the South Korean government believes that the epidemic situation in China is gradually stabilizing, and has decided to resume the issuance of short-term visas to Chinese tourists, while other entry epidemic prevention measures will continue to be maintained for the time being. Beijing responded that it would actively consider resuming the review and issuance of short-term visas for South Korean citizens to China on a reciprocal basis.
(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The South Korean government announced on Friday (February 10) that it will resume issuing short-term visas to Chinese tourists starting Saturday (11th). According to Kim Sung-ho (transliteration), an official from the South Korean Ministry of the Interior, South Korea believes that China has passed the peak of the new crown epidemic, and the epidemic has gradually subsided. Next, South Korea will consider gradually relaxing other entry epidemic prevention measures for Chinese tourists after a comprehensive assessment.
After the “White Paper Movement” broke out in China at the end of last year, the government loosened the anti-epidemic measures, but then it was reported that the number of people infected with the epidemic increased sharply, which aroused international doubts about the actual scale of China’s concealment of the epidemic. At the beginning of this year, many countries imposed entry and exit restrictions on Chinese tourists, including Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Italy.
On January 2, South Korea announced that it would stop issuing tourist visas for embassies and consulates in China, and only issue visas for diplomatic, official, and humanitarian purposes; in addition, all those entering South Korea from China, Hong Kong, and Macau must submit a visa within 48 hours. Negative screening certificate, and must undergo nucleic acid testing after arriving in South Korea. The above measures aroused strong dissatisfaction from the Chinese government, and China subsequently suspended visa issuance to South Korea in response to South Korea.
According to the data released by the South Korean health department this Friday, 1.4% of short-term Chinese tourists have tested positive after entering the country at this stage, a significant drop from 22% in the first week of January. Overall, since January 2, about 10,000 short-term travelers from China have been screened at South Korean airports, and about 7% of them were diagnosed.
A statement from the South Korean health unit pointed out that the above-mentioned confirmed data showed a downward trend, which “obviously reflects changes in the new crown epidemic in China”: after the Lunar New Year, there were no obvious signs of large-scale spread of the virus, and no new mutant strains were found.
The Chinese government stated that it has been continuously monitoring the mutant strains at various ports recently, and all the mutant strains discovered so far belong to the Omicron branch, mainly BA.5.2 and BF.7 and their sub-branches. New mutant strains with markedly increased abilities are prevalent.”
On Thursday, Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the recent epidemic situation in China has “been stabilizing” and that “most people have recovered” just after experiencing a national epidemic. Wu Zunyou believes that from the perspective of the whole of China, the current population immunity is “in a relatively high period”. In the next few months, it is unlikely that a new wave of large-scale epidemics will break out across the country, but will “intermittently spread in some areas, Part of the population, over a period of time.”
According to South Korea’s original plan, the entry epidemic prevention regulations for Chinese tourists will continue until the end of February. However, many South Korean tourism operators hope to relax the restrictions on Chinese tourists as soon as possible; South Korean Prime Minister Han Yuzhu also revealed last Tuesday (January 31) that if the epidemic situation in China does improve, early lifting of restrictions is not ruled out.
According to Reuters, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on February 10 that “it will actively consider resuming the review and issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens to China on a reciprocal basis.” statement.
(Yonhap, Associated Press, Reuters, etc.)
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