The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday urged people to carefully assess the risks before heading to China and to stay alert while visiting there to reduce the risks to their personal safety.
The plea from council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (
More Taiwanese are expected to head to China during this upcoming holiday than in previous years following the devastation to the tourism industry in South Asia and Southeast Asia caused by the Dec. 26 tsunami tragedy.
According to Chiu, Taiwanese make about 3 million trips to China each year for tourism or for business activities, making China one of the top destinations for Taiwanese people traveling abroad. Despite this, Taiwanese visitors have not been afforded due protection in China, Chiu claimed.
He quoted a study conducted recently by an academic group as indicating that Taiwanese tourists face 10 major problems in visiting China, including the lack of a tourism safety and security protection mechanism; overbooking of transport tickets; rampant circulation of counterfeit goods; widespread epidemic diseases; unauthorized changing of itineraries; forced visits to shops; unregulated tipping systems; and reneging on accommodation contracts.
Chiu added that any Taiwanese residents who need assistance while traveling in China can call the Straits Exchange Foundation at 8862-27129292, Chung Hwa Travel Service at 852-25258642, or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Macau at 853-306282.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it