Text to Speech

China imposed its first countermeasure on Tuesday toward discriminatory and unnecessary travel restrictions against travelers from China by suspending short-term visas for South Korean citizens who wants to visit China. The latest measure is considered as China's direct and reasonable response to protect its own legitimate interests, particularly after some countries are continuing hyping up China's epidemic situation by putting travel restrictions for political manipulation despite that many public health experts around the globe have criticized it as a "toxic trend."  China suspends issuing short-term visas for South Korean citizens to travel to China for visit, business, tourism, medical treatment, transit or other personal affairs, with the new adjustment taking effect starting Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in South Korea said in a statement released on Tuesday. The decision will be reassessed as soon as South Korea removes its discriminatory travel restrictions targeting travelers from China, the statement said.  Following the move by the Chinese Embassy in South Korea, the Chinese Embassy in Japan also issued a notice on Tuesday to suspended the issuing of ordinary visas for Japanese citizens who want to travel to China without notifying a date for resumption.  The US, Japan and South Korea are among the countries that had announced restrictions on travelers from China, citing concerns that the current surge of COVID-19 cases in China could lead to the emergence of new variants. When asked about whether China also suspended visa application for Japanese citizens who plan to travel to China, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a routine press conference on Tuesday that since China adjusted its COVID management and unveiled the resumption of people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries and regions, many countries have welcomed Chinese travelers but a handful of countries adopted entry restrictions against travelers from China.