The government yesterday denied a newspaper report that Taiwan had secretly authorized talks to take place at a Shanghai travel fair later this week between tourist delegations from Taiwan and China on the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tourists.
"The Ministry of Transportation and Communication did not authorize any organization to talk with China about allowing Chinese nationals to come to Taiwan for sightseeing," a news release from the ministry stated yesterday.
A Chinese-language newspaper, citing an official close to the development -- though the report did not disclose whether the official is Taiwanese or Chinese -- reported yesterday that some 120 members of a Taiwanese tourist delegation had been secretly authorized to talk with Chinese authorities at a Shanghai travel fair opening this Thursday over a relaxation of regulations by both sides to allow Chinese residents to visit Taiwan for sightseeing purposes.
The delegation of travel agents organized by the national travel agents' lobby, the Chinese Travel Industry Association, left for Shanghai yesterday.
The report also said if everything goes smoothly China will agree to list Taiwan as a destination that Beijing allows its people to visit for pleasure, while Taipei will open up for all Chinese nationals to visit Taiwan for sightseeing by the end of the year.
According to the ministry, "The government did not give any permission or authorization to ask them to do so."
But the news release added that as long as China agrees to list Taiwan as a location to be visited, the ministry will "actively assist the domestic tourism industry to receive Chinese tourists."
China lists 23 destinations worldwide where Chinese tourists can visit, and Taiwan is not on the list.
Taiwan lifted its ban on Chinese tourists on Jan. 1 this year but only allows overseas Chinese who live in third countries or Chinese residents in Hong Kong and Macau to make their trips to Taiwan for sightseeing.
As of yesterday, 72 groups totaling 1,024 Chinese nationals have visited Taiwan for sightseeing tours.
The Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Cheng Ming-tong (陳明通) said yesterday, "The number of tourists from China is much lower than expected because China refuses to include Taiwan as a destination that Chinese nationals are allowed to visit."
Chen denied the report and added that such negotiations should be conducted by the government. "We hope that Chinese authorities will be able to sit down to talk to us about this," Chen said. ,
Last July, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (
At the time, Lin asked China to allow Chinese nationals to visit Taiwan, but has yet to receive a response.
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