China will send a 36-member delegation to Taiwan next month to prepare for tour groups to visit the island beginning in July, a local newspaper said yesterday.
The travel representatives from China will arrive April 29 in Taipei for a two-week visit, the paper said.
They will attend three seminars with their Taiwan counterparts and visit tourists resorts and facilities on the island.
Taiwan plans to lift its five-decade ban on tourists from China visiting Taiwan on July 1. In the initial stage, Taipei will only accept Chinese tour groups and will set a quota of 1,000 tourists per day.
The restriction is to avoid an influx of too many tourists and to prevent Chinese from staying behind to work illegally.
According to the report, China has authorized the Hai Xia Cross Strait Travel Agency, an affiliate of the Chinese State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, to handle tours to Taiwan.
For security reasons, Taiwan has banned direct sea, air and postal links with China but has allowed Taiwan residents to visit China since 1987.
Three million people from Taiwan visited China last year for sightseeing, family reunions and business.
According to the report, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council will establish some regulations on Chinese tour groups while visiting Taiwan.
It said the council will in the initial stage only allow Chinese people over the age of 30 to visit Taiwan. Additionally, tourists from China will only be allowed to enter Taiwan through CKS International Airport and will have to exit from Kaohsiung Hsiaokang International Airport.
The paper quoted DPP legislator Chang Ching-fang (
The itinerary is currently waiting for approval from the Mainland Affairs Council.
According to Chang, the government will allow Chinese tourists to set foot on the island based on a policy of "groups in, groups out" (
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS