TSU lawmakers yesterday suggested that the government should take the bold step of opening the way for Chinese nationals to travel to Taiwan. They said that this would prevent Taiwan's tourism from being negatively affected by any possible future opening of direct links with China.
The lawmakers said that once the direct links are implemented, Taiwan's tourism would shrink substantially because people in Taiwan would prefer to travel in China rather than at home.
To avoid serious consequences for Taiwan's travel industry after any possible opening of links, TSU lawmakers called upon the government to create incentives to attract Chinese visitors to Taiwan.
TSU Legislator Lo Chih-ming (
"The Chinese government is known for vilifying our country by saying that our country is not liberal enough. But their assumptions would be changed if they are allowed to witness how we can freely express our ideas at the legislature," he said.
Lo also proposed that the government establish a bureau to exclusively handle affairs concerning Chinese tourists.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office (
Lo said Taiwan should therefore set up a "Taiwan Chinese Affairs Office" (
Lo said the government has to attend to the issue because exchanges between Taiwan and China is uneven.
An estimated 6 million Taiwanese will visit China every year once direct links are implemented but, only a few hundred thousand Chinese would come to Taiwan, according to Lo.
The government ended a ban on Chinese nationals residing overseas from visiting Taiwan at the beginning of the year. On May 10, Taiwan granted approval to Chinese nationals who are residents of Hong Kong and Macao to travel to Taiwan. Chinese businessmen can now also visit Taiwan via a third country.
But the initiatives has so far not attracted many Chinese travelers because the Beijing government does not encourage its citizens to visit here.
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