The Straits Travel Agency, a newly set up office founded by the Taiwan Affairs Office under Beijing's State Council, is said to be an exclusive body in charge of Taiwan-bound tourism.
It was learned that Beijing officials have been paying close attention to travel by its citizens to Taiwan for leisure trips since Taiwan relaxed restrictions late last year to allow people from China to travel, trade and teach in Taiwan.
Sources from China reported yesterday that the official Straits Travel Agency will contract nine Chinese travel agencies to serve Taiwan-bound tourists, whose numbers are expected to top 500,000 annually.
The Straits Travel Agency is also poised to replace the China Travel Agency, Beijing's existing official body in charge of issuing documents to Taiwan residents for travel to China for a wide variety of purposes, it was reported.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's General Chamber of Commerce yesterday urged the government to clarify its policy on opening up to Chinese visitors so as to allow Taiwan businesses to prepare for the potentially lucrative market.
The chamber called for the government not to impose age restrictions on Taiwan-bound tourists from China, and to upgrade service quality by accelerating training of local guides and travel agency personnel, as well as to designate Taipei's Sungshan Airport as the selected airport handling direct flights between Taiwan and cities in China.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
In the wake of the announcement, leaders in Taiwan's tourism sector have expressed hope that the government will quickly work out relevant regulations on the market opening so as to allow them to act accordingly.
Taiwan is the most popular holiday destination for Chinese citizens who have the opportunity to travel abroad, according to a recent survey in Beijing.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique