The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that it welcomes tourists not only from China, but from all countries.
“President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) repeatedly stated during the presidential campaign that the number of Chinese tourists will not decrease [once the DPP is in power], and that we should attract visitors from more countries,” DPP spokesperson Ruan Jhao-syong (阮昭雄) said. “This is the correct objective.”
Ruan made the remarks in response to media queries on comments made by Chang Ching-sen (張景森), the policy director of Tsai’s office.
At a meeting with tour operators on Wednesday to discuss the alleged decline in the number of Chinese tourists in recent months, Chang said that the DPP welcomes Chinese tourists and the party would seek to relax laws to “liberate the tourism industry” when Tsai is sworn into office on May 20.
Some tour operators have complained that the number of Chinese tourists decreased ahead of and after the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 16, while others said the decrease has been minimal.
Ruan said that the DPP think tank regularly meets with tour operators, as well as academics in the field, to hear their opinions.
As for policies to “liberate the tourism industry,” Ruan said the think tank is currently working on policy proposals, which are to be implemented after Tsai is sworn in.
The DPP government would seek to attract more visitors from Japan, Southeast Asia and India, Ruan said, adding that the DPP would also seek to improve the quality of Chinese tour groups and encourage more free and independent travelers from China.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS