Taiwan welcomes Chinese tourists, but Beijing’s ban on travel remains an obstacle, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) yesterday told legislators when asked why travel from across the Taiwan Strait has not improved.
Chiu made the comments while presenting a report on the situation of tourism between Taiwan and China at a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) said that Taiwanese can go to China as an independent tourist, but China prohibits its citizens from traveling to Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
“Beijing is not providing equal treatment for mutual benefits, it only permits a small, restricted opening for local tourists,” Su said, referring the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism last week announcing that it would allow residents of China’s Fujian Province to visit Lienchiang County (Matsu).
“So in the spirit of reciprocity, should we only allow Taiwanese on the Matsu islands to travel in group tours to China’s Fujian? Or maybe also for Kinmen County residents?” she said, adding that both sides must open up and accumulate goodwill before broadening travel.
Independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) said that the tourism industry was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the pandemic over, “the promise for Taiwan and China to open up for tourists has not been realized.
As 220,000 people in Taiwan depend on tourism business, the government should look for ways to stimulate tourism, and not just focus on the semiconductor industry, Chin said.
Chiu said that the main obstruction is China’s ban against its citizens visiting Taiwan.
“Policies on tourism are being evaluated, with changes in cross-strait travel being considered. We hope to have a ‘complete open-door policy’ conducted on the premise of reciprocity for travel between Taiwan and China,” he said.
“Our tourism sector’s 220,000 people who wish to get back on the job, must ask China to allow their tourists to travel to Taiwan. We have since August last year allowed travel from China, but it is the Chinese government that refuses to open up,” he said
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
RSS