Two large cruise ships from abroad arrived at Keelung Port yesterday.
The Europa, registered in the Bahamas, arrived at 7am yesterday with 339 tourists from Europe and North America.
Later the Legend of the Seas arrived, carrying approximately 1,600 employees of the direct-marketing company Amway China, the second of a series of tours being organized this year by the firm to reward its employees.
The Legend also brought 1,616 Amway China employees from Shanghai a week ago.
The Keelung Port Bureau said 42 cruise ships had scheduled to dock at the harbor this year.
Despite the arrival of two cruise ships yesterday, the media focused its attention on the group from China.
Many of the Amway employees seemed very excited upon arrival in Keelung, with some singing Gaoshanqing, a Taiwanese song about the beauty of Alishan.
Dozens of Falun Gong practitioners turned up at the harbor to greet the tourists and express concern about the suppression of the spiritual movement in China.
The followers held a demonstration as the tourists arrived, unfurling banners reading “The Chinese communists suppress their compatriots” and “Down with the tyranny of the Chinese communists.”
The group was eventually dispersed by police because they had not applied for a permit to demonstrate.
Surprised tourists shunned the protesters and hurried to the tour buses waiting to take them to the National Palace Museum, where many shopped extensively at the museum gift shop.
Souvenirs featuring the museum’s famed green jade carved in the shape of a Chinese cabbage, one of the collection’s most popular treasures, were in high demand.
After the first group of Amway employees came under fire last week by the media and lawmakers for alleged arrogant behavior when shopping, the group yesterday seemed a bit more low-key.
When asked by reporters how much they planned to spend and what they intended to buy, the tourists gave answers such as “It depends on the budget we have and things we want to buy” or “I don’t know, I’ll have to check with my husband.”
The Tourism Bureau has estimated that the number of Chinese tourists entering Taiwan this week would reach 15,765, making the daily average approximately 2,300.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised during his election campaign that 3,000 Chinese tourists would enter Taiwan daily with the launch of cross-strait flights.
Arrivals were averaging a few hundred a day until China agreed on Jan. 20 to allow residents in another 12 provinces and cities to book trips to Taiwan, meaning that Chinese residing in a total of 25 provinces and cities can now travel to Taiwan.
Chinese authorities later also boosted the number of Chinese tour operators that are allowed to offer trips to Taiwan from 33 to 100.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AGENCIES
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS