Kinmen County Commissioner Li Wo-shi (李沃士) has proposed allowing the archipelago to be developed into “duty-free islands” to boost tourism and the local economy.
Li, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member, elaborated on his proposal at a Kinmen economic forum that was held on the county’s main island on Monday.
Tourism is the backbone of Kinmen’s development, Li said.
By integrating travel and shopping, the county, previously a heavily militarized outpost, could enjoy an economic boost, he said.
China’s Xiamen, which is close to Kinmen, saw 41.24 million foreign and domestic travelers last year, Li said.
Given this potentially huge market, the county should think hard about how to attract travelers, who would only have to take a 30-minute ferry ride from Xiamen to reach Kinmen, he said.
Li said he has asked the central government to grant Chinese tourists multiple-entry visas for Kinmen and has also asked Beijing to ease the current Kinmen one-day tour restrictions to two or three days.
Furthermore, duty-free shopping would also tempt people from Taiwan proper to make the short trip to the archipelago.
The Kinmen economic forum was organized by the Taiwan Competitiveness Forum, a Taipei-based think tank, which invited officials, academics and business representatives from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China to discuss issues concerning the strategic value, economy and industry of Kinmen, as well as a proposal to establish a “living circle” covering Kinmen and Xiamen to make more effective use of tourism resources.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS