The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday dismissed speculation that Beijing is planning to drastically cut the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan by 95 percent in the run-up to the January elections.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) asked MAC Deputy Minister Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) at a legislative meeting about reports that the Beijing government is to reduce the number of Chinese tourists to Taiwan by 95 percent for a month between the middle of December and Jan. 16, when Taiwan holds its presidential and legislative elections.
She asked whether the government had come up with countermeasures to protect local tourism, especially in eastern Taiwan.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
“There is no such thing,” Lin said, referring to the rumored cut.
Asked why such a rumor has been circulating, Lin said that Taiwanese elections are a politically sensitive issue in China, and Beijing has therefore cautioned Chinese “visitors and travel agencies to be careful when visiting.”
“So it is true that a small portion of people might be affected,” Lin said.
“Do you not think that [Chinese people] would rather be curious, contrary to the Chinese government’s warning, about the election in a pluralistic democratic society? After all, they do not have elections there,” Hsiao said.
“That is true, so visitors in general might want to come, but tour groups of professionals or of official exchanges might be affected,” Lin said, adding that he could not specify a number, but expects the figure to be small.
“Certainly not 95 percent,” he said.
Hsiao said the concern expressed by travel agencies is an indication of how tourism has become overly dependent on China.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said the government has always been circumspect and kept the number of Chinese tourists at a certain level.
“The proportion [of Chinese visitors] is less than 40 percent right now,” he said.
MAC Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) said on Monday at a legislative committee meeting that he would inform his Chinese counterpart during a cross-strait meeting starting today that Taiwan’s elections are “normal and regular” events that should not be an excuse to bar Chinese tourists from visiting Taiwan.
Hsia added that he would ask Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) to clearly repudiate the rumor about the 95 percent reduction.
Hsia said the two sides would also exchange views on the overall development of cross-strait relations, and that the council hopes to maintain cross-strait peace and stability based on the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding reached during the cross-strait talks in 1992 that both Taiwan and China acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what that means.
Hsia and Zhang will also exchange views on the cross-strait trade in goods agreement, setting up respective representative offices in each other’s territories, signing an environmental protection agreement, the implementation of major agreements, and both sides taking part in regional economic integration.
Additional reporting by CNA
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai