Palauan President Tommy Remengesau yesterday expressed the hope that Taiwan and Palau could promote joint tourism packages — boosting tourist numbers that have declined due to Chinese pressure — as he lauded 19 years of a “productive and helpful” friendship between the two nations.
Remengesau, who is on a five-day visit to Taiwan from Saturday to today, made the remarks at a news conference in Taipei, where he addressed his nation’s tourism challenges caused by Beijing’s reported ban that has significantly driven down tourist numbers to the Pacific island nation and even forced Palau Pacific Airways to suspend flights to China in July.
Taiwan has since 2016 also seen a decline in the number of Chinese tourists as a result of Beijing’s punitive measures against the President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration’s refusal to toe its “one China” line.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“I think there are good ideas outside the box that we can begin to market ourselves together. You [tourists] can come to Taipei for a few days and then come to Palau for a few days,” Remengesau said, adding that Taipei could serve as a transit point for European or Japanese tourists visiting his nation.
Although no new cooperative agreements were signed between his government and the Tsai administration during his visit, Remengesau said that he proposed to Tsai that people from her government could expand their visits to Palau and that Taiwan’s airline industry could consider increasing their flights to his nation.
He added that investment in Palau’s high-end hotels would also be a great help to his tourism-reliant nation.
Turning to China’s increased efforts to poach Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, Remengesau said that friendship cannot be forced, because it is earned through mutual understanding.
“We hope that it is not the policy [of China to make friends] through pressure or coercion... The only way we can live in harmony and peacefully side-by-side is to respect each other’s feelings and aspirations,” Remengesau said.
“You cannot force your own aspirations on other people because it is not how the world survives as a global family,” he said, urging all state actors, regardless of their size, to have respect for one another.
Remengesau said that because Taiwan and Palau share many similar values, such as respect for elderly people and the hospitality of their people, he felt comfortable and relaxed while visiting Taiwan, calling it “another home away from home.”
The Palauan leader said the bilateral relationship has been productive since diplomatic ties were established in 1999, with practical partnerships having been created in the areas of health, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
“As you know, we are not only good friends with Taiwan, but we do strongly believe that Taiwan can also be a friend to the world,” Remengesau said, adding that Taiwan could share its experiences in technology and other sectors with nations around the world.
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious goals that require the participation and contribution of everyone, he said, adding: “We strongly feel that Taiwan can make a big and good difference in how we, as a global family and community of nations, can address these modern challenges.”
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