The March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a deadly derailment on the Alishan Forest Railway in April and a plasticizer food scare have dragged down growth in international tourist arrivals, which rose only 5 percent in the first six months of this year, the Tourism Bureau said last week.
Statistics from the bureau showed that 2.85 million international tourists arrived between January and June, a 5 percent growth compared with the same period last year.
Tourism Bureau Director--General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍) said that despite the modest growth, the bureau had no intention of adjusting its goal of receiving 6.5 million international visitors this year.
About 5.57 million international tourists visited the nation last year. The bureau originally raised the goal this year to 6 million, but the Executive Yuan raised the goal by another 500,000 tourists.
Meanwhile, Lai said that about 12,000 Chinese tourists had obtained travel passes issued by the Public Security Department in China to visit Taiwan as free and independent travelers (FIT).
The FIT policy has been under scrutiny lately as it drew only 500 tourists in the first month after the policy was launched.
At present, only people from Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen are allowed to visit as FITs. Taiwan and China agreed to cap the number of Chinese FITs at 500 a day at in the initial stage.
Lai said 4,790 permits had been given in Shanghai since June, 28, 4,780 in Beijing and 2,490 in Xiamen. However, Lai said the National Immigration Agency had reviewed only 1,717 applications for travel permits. A total of 1,356 have been issued. Lai said both sides would review the FIT policy next month to try to further streamline application procedures.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS