Tourists from Taiwan kick off car tour in Xiamen

The government is encouraging Fujian province and Taiwan to strengthen exchanges further, after tourists from the island gained permission to drive their own cars when visiting the province, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday.

"The normalization of driving tours improves the exchanges and cooperation between the two sides," the spokesman, Ma Xiaoguang, said at a regular news briefing. "Fujian and Taiwan are closely related in history, as well as today."

Asked when mainland tourists will be able to ferry their cars to Taiwan, Ma said the schedule depends on Taiwan's policies.