Negotiations on cross-strait flight routes will be conducted under the principle of safeguarding national security and dignity, Minister of Transportation and Communications Mao Chi-kuo (椈鶵玿) reiterated yesterday.
Mao was responding to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (蝔錥藸), who asked the minister to clarify a media report on the possible direct cross-strait flight routes.
※[China] has ballistic missiles pointed at us, used tainted milk powder to poison us and aimed to spread the SARS virus to destroy us,§ Yeh said. ※We can*t allow their charter flights to encroach on our aviation zones simply because of the convenience it will bring.§
Mao responded by saying it would be inappropriate to disclose too many details before negotiations begin, but added that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ministry of National Defense have been engaged in close discussions over this issue, and that the government would not compromise the nation*s security and dignity when negotiating with the Chinese government.
Yeh said that while the ministry had yet to meet its goal of having 3,000 Chinese tourists per day visiting Taiwan, it kept creating false expectations in the tourism industry with statements like ※things will get better after the Beijing Olympics.§
The number of tourists from China who visited Taiwan during China*s ※golden week§ national day celebrations this year exceeded 1,000 people on only one day during the holiday period from Wednesday to Sunday last week, she said.
※I am just reminding you that you have to be cautious about the messages you send to the travel industry,§ she told Mao. ※Rather than helping the industry, they could actually hurt it.§
Mao said cross-strait tourism was still in its infancy.
There were still problems to overcome, including increasing the number of weekly charter flights and airports where the flights can land, he said.
Mao said the government was not just targeting tourists from China.
The number of tourists from Southeast Asia has increased by 20 percent from last year, and the Tourism Bureau has spent more than NT$100 million (US$3 million) on marketing efforts in Japan and South Korea, he said.
With Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai (羜聝藟) scheduled to visit China next week, some lawmakers said they have heard complaints that Lai would take along only a few agents from travel agencies that organize expensive tours around Taiwan.
Lai said last night the Taiwan Visitors Association, a 〝semi-〝official association, had held an open session to review the qualifications of representatives that would accompany her.
They would not all be travel agents either, she said.
Lai said that more than 200 travel agencies in Taiwan were qualified to organize tours for Chinese tourists, not just a select few.
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