On Friday, Beijing's National Tourism Administration announced a plan to lift restrictions on tourist travel to Taiwan and said it hoped to engage in negotiations through the model used for the Lunar New Year charter flights.
At first glance, this may appear to be a "generous gift" from China -- at least that is the way that Beijing and some groups within Taiwan would like to portray the move. However, a closer look reveals that this will most likely not bring the kind of benefits that the people of Taiwan -- especially the tourism industry -- are hoping for.
A skill that Beijing apparently is sharpening in dealing with Taiwan is to exaggerate the benefits of its supposed goodwill gestures to create an illusion of magnanimity. So long as it successfully creates the desired impression, very few people bother to check later whether any substantive benefits actually result.
Two cases in point are the recent trips to China by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Another case in point is the so-called "opening up" promised by Beijing in September on travel by Xiamen residents to Kinmen through the existing "small three links." In the six months since that policy's implementation, only 300 people have been approved for such trips by the Chinese government. This figure is significantly lower than what had been anticipated. Reportedly, this is because it takes up to a month for the Chinese tourists to get government approval.
It is noteworthy that the statement issued by the National Tourism Administration on Friday failed to touch on how much "opening up" Beijing has in mind, in terms of the number of visits it will allow, as well as simplifying and shortening the approval process on the Chinese side. Under the circumstances, those critics in Taiwan who were quick to complain about the number tentatively offered by Taiwan's government -- to allow up to 1,000 Chinese tourists into Taiwan each day -- in all likelihood spoke too quickly. It won't be a big surprise if far fewer Chinese tourists end up coming to Taiwan each day due to the Chinese government's bureaucracy.
And that's not to mention the fact that Taiwan's government still hasn't figured out a way to deal with the problem of Chinese tourists remaining here illegally. The recent visits by Chinese tourists traveling to Taiwan from third countries is a telling example. Taiwan opened up to this kind of tourism in 2002, and already visitors are staying here illegally. That problem will only be amplified under the more comprehensive opening up now being contemplated.
Then there is the issue of the model for negotiations. Unlike the one-off Lunar New Year charter flights, opening up to Chinese tourists requires a comprehensive and permanent policy. More formal government-to-government negotiations are in order. Otherwise, Taiwan may pay a steep price on the sovereignty issue in exchange for meager economic benefits.
In Taiwan's exchanges and dealings with Beijing thus far, China has never lost a single round or made any substantive concession. Under the circumstances, with respect to those people who sincerely feel excited about this so-called "opening up" of tourism to Taiwan, one can only admire their innocence.
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
RSS