Last month, China announced that effective Aug. 1, it was banning independent travel to Taiwan, citing the current state of cross-strait relations. Beijing hopes that by harming the nation’s tourism industry, it could gain leverage over Taiwanese politics.
I am a resident of Tainan, one of the nation’s tourism hotspots. In response to Beijing’s move, Tainan Deputy Mayor Wang Shih-ssu (王時思) on Tuesday last week launched the initiative “Free tourism in a free nation.”
Wang called on netizens to post images and stories that display the beauty of Taiwan to stimulate domestic tourism and to contrast unencumbered travel in Taiwan with the restrictive nature of tourism in China.
LOCALIZATION
Beijing’s arbitrary restriction not only places political considerations above the individual liberty of Chinese citizens, but is also a clandestine attack on Taiwan’s localist political parties.
However, should people also be concerned about the potential effect this could have on the tourism industry and the wider economy? The short answer is no.
Last year, 3.53 million people rented accommodation in Tainan. About 100,000 were Chinese, constituting just 2.8 percent. This shows that the overall contribution of Chinese travelers to Tainan’s tourism sector is limited.
Furthermore, Beijing’s clumsy “united front” tactic is just the latest in a long line of examples.
After Taiwanese made the “wrong” decision in the 2016 presidential and legislative elections, Beijing initiated a “united front” strategy that offered special travel packages to encourage Chinese to visit the eight municipalities and counties where the incumbent mayor or commissioner was a pan-blue politician who recognized the so-called “1992 consensus.”
A propaganda poster developed by China at the time, emblazoned with the slogan “1992 consensus: Making people’s lives better,” now looks richly ironic.
Although Beijing vociferously promoted a policy of “differential treatment” in 2016, there was no visible effect on Tainan’s tourism industry.
In 2015, Tainan’s main tourism hotspots attracted 23 million visitors. In 2016, that number dropped by 1 million, but the following year, it returned to 23 million.
TAINAN MODEL
Tainan’s tourism industry has been incredibly resilient in the face of multiple attacks by Beijing. Built on solid foundations, Tainan is a paragon of self-
sufficient tourism and a model for the rest of the nation.
Tainan residents, responding to the latest restriction on social media, have even boasted that their city does not need to rely on Chinese tourists.
How is it that Tainan’s tourism industry has been able to weather the storm? Many young Hong Kongers, unable to bear Beijing’s repressive rule, have been emigrating to Taiwan, and for many, their first choice is to settle in Tainan.
In addition to the old-world charm of Tainan’s historic center, Hong Kongers are also attracted to the warmth and friendliness of its residents.
Perhaps most of all, there is an indomitable spirit of defiance and freedom that permeates the city.
If Taiwan preserves its unique characteristics, exudes self-confidence and individuality, and above all protects its democratic and liberal values, this will be the most effective defense against the slings and arrows of China’s dictatorship.
Lin Cheng-you is chief secretary of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Tainan branch.
Translated by Edward Jones
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump is systematically dismantling the network of multilateral institutions, organizations and agreements that have helped prevent a third world war for more than 70 years. Yet many governments are twisting themselves into knots trying to downplay his actions, insisting that things are not as they seem and that even if they are, confronting the menace in the White House simply is not an option. Disagreement must be carefully disguised to avoid provoking his wrath. For the British political establishment, the convenient excuse is the need to preserve the UK’s “special relationship” with the US. Following their White House
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
RSS