Taipei, June 16 -- The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) defended its choice to prohibit Chinese officials and tourism representatives from participating in a tourism event in Taipei next month, citing unsafe conditions for Taiwanese individuals in China, according to a Taipei Times report.

The Taipei International Summer Travel Expo, organised by the Taiwan Tourism Exchange Association, is scheduled to take place from July 18 to 21. Zhu Fenglian, the spokeswoman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, stated on Friday that representatives from China's travel industry were not invited to the expo, as reported by the Taipei Times.

She claimed that the Democratic Progressive Party government is hindering cross-strait tourism exchanges in a misgui...