Taipei, April 28 -- Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has said it will not remove the ban on domestic travel agencies promoting package group tours to China until the "personal freedom and travel safety" of Taiwanese travellers can be guaranteed amid criticism that followed a recent deadly bus crash in China, according to a report by Central News Agency (CNA).

MAC, Taiwan's leading government body responsible for cross-strait affairs, stated this after a Taiwanese tour group was involved in a bus accident in China's Gansu Province last Friday, resulting in the death of one Taiwanese citizen and injuries to 12 others. The incident sparked criticism that Taiwan's restriction on China-bound tour groups, which has been in place since e...