This undated photo shows Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office. (PHOTO/XINHUA)

BEIJING - The resumption of cross-Straits exchanges as soon as possible is an issue of great concern to people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday.

When commenting on possible "travel bubbles" across the Straits, Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, pointed to "a very abnormal state" of cross-Straits communications and personnel exchanges since February.

When commenting on possible "travel bubbles" across the Straits, Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, pointed to "a very abnormal state" of cross-Straits communications and personnel exchanges since February

Such an abnormal state was caused not only by the epidemic but also by the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority's measures on the pretext of epidemic prevention and control, Zhu said.

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The DPP authority has suspended all visits to Taiwan by mainland residents and canceled a large number of direct flights between the two sides for 10 months, she said.

Many Taiwan compatriots hope to resume cross-Strait exchanges as soon as possible, which reflects the will of the public, Zhu noted.

The two biggest problems that Taiwan compatriots living and working on the mainland have complained about are the high cost of nucleic acid test in Taiwan and the time and expense involved in cross-Strait travel, according to Zhu.

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As the Chinese New Year is coming, the mainland will do its best to help the Taiwan compatriots on the mainland to go back to their homes for the most important traditional festival, said Zhu.

"We do hope the DPP authority will not deliberately obstruct the return of the Taiwan compatriots out of political calculations," said Zhu.

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