Although the Chinese communist authorities have already announced that they have arrested three suspects for robbing the passengers and burning the boat, the rigid attitude displayed by mainland China after the incident, their imperious obstruction of bereaved family members and reporters from Taiwan, and their sustained insistence that the incident was simply an accident, generated a strong reaction in Taiwan, where people moved to completely boycott cross-Strait exchanges.
雖然中共宣佈已逮捕了搶劫焚跡海瑞號的三名罪犯，但事發後，中共對事件僵化的處理作風、及對罹難家屬與記者的蠻橫阻擾，且一再強調是一樁意外事件，卻引發了台灣地區民眾的強烈反應，進而全面性抵制兩岸的交流活動。