Residents of the Hamasen area (哈瑪星) in Kaohsiung yesterday protested at a public hearing with city officials over Chinese tourists to the Sizihwan Scenic Area (西子灣), saying the surge of visitors has disrupted traffic, while business at local stores continues to suffer.
Chinese tourists are like “locusts,” because they arrive in swarms, Hamasen resident Lin King-li (林金利) said, adding that many litter, urinate and defecate on the streets.
He criticized the city government’s tourism policy, which focuses on boosting the number of Chinese visitors, saying that local businesses are not making any more profit from the increased tourism.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
If the situation continues, Taiwan could become the next Hong Kong, he said.
Tourists do not necessarily bring revenue to a business, National Sun Yat-sen University educator Yu Chien-yuan (余建源) said.
He said the situation in Sizihwan is evidence that Chinese travel agencies that offer bargain packages do not boost tourism income, as the agencies take their clients dining and shopping only at stores they are affiliated with.
As a result, not only are people not receiving the revenues they were promised, the city has to use taxpayers’ money to clean up the mess caused by Chinese tourists, while Chinese businessesprofit.
Members from the Hamasen Vision Alliance and several other self-help groups said that Chinese visitors have degraded residents’ quality of life.
Meanwhile, the Kaohsiung City Government said that it would limit tour buses from 3pm to 7pm, starting on Sunday.
Bus access to the Sizihwan Scenic Area is to be capped at 15 vehicles every 20 minutes, it said.
Residents at the hearing called the move a “band-aid.”
Kaohsiung City Councilor Lee Chiao-ju (李喬如) said that Sizihwan is better without Chinese tourists if all they do is “pee and litter,” while Kaohsiung City Councilor Chien Huan-tsung (簡煥宗) called on the city’s Tourism Bureau to prepare a report on tourist-related problems.
He urged the city government to establish a committee of residents and academics to work out a long-term mitigation plan.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS