The 14 Taiwanese tourists who were found in China’s Sichuan Province on Saturday are scheduled to return to Taiwan this evening, the Taiwan Travel Agent Association (TAA) said yesterday.
TAA chairman Yao Ta-kuang (姚大光) said the Chinese government had dispatched a helicopter to pick up the tourists at Chipan Village, where they have been staying since the earthquake hit Sichaun Province on Monday.
The helicopter took off at 10:30am yesterday and arrived at Chengdu at 12pm with 11 Taiwanese on board. As of press time, three Taiwanese remained in the village because the helicopter had difficulty landing.
Officials from the Association for Relations across the Taiwan Strait and the China National Tourism Administration were also on board to greet the Taiwanese tourists, Yao said.
Yao said that 11 tourists had had meals and health examinations after they arrived in Chengdu. They would also spend the night in Chengdu before returning home, he said.
Yao said the tourists could arrive in Taipei today at 8:20pm.
Meanwhile, Yao softened his criticism of 74 MassMutual Mercuries Life (MMML, 三商美邦人壽), which insisted on continuing the unfinished tour after the earthquake.
Some MMML employees called the media in Taiwan and complained that the travel agency had put them in a hotel with no water and food.
“I am sure whatever they said was nothing more than emotional statements,” he said, “They were inside Jiuzhaigou and didn’t know that the world outside had changed.”
Yao said they would hold a ceremony in honor of the tour guides who helped Taiwanese tourists evacuate from the earthquake-stricken areas.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS