Following the second disappearance of Chinese tourists in Taiwan in the past month, government officials yesterday scrambled to defend the effectiveness of recently-tightened restrictions, explaining that the tour group had been authorized before new restrictions had been put into place.
The Mainland Affairs Council also called on China to aid in preventing illegal immigration made possible by cross-strait tourism programs.
"With regards to any sort of tourism program, the government works hard to do what it has to do, but it is because [China] is unwilling to negotiate that implementation becomes difficult," MAC Vice Chairman Johnnason Liu (
"There is a degree of difficulty in implementing regulations for all countries. We hope that China understands this and is willing to engage in negotiations with Taiwan on the topic of tourism as soon as possible," Liu added.
Thirteen members of a tour group from China were reported missing after the group checked into a hotel in Taoyuan on Tuesday. The group had been checked in at 11:48am, but had disappeared by 11:50am when the tour guide checked their rooms, according to the Bureau of Tourism yesterday.
A list of the missing persons, all of whom are male and from Fujian Province, was made public late Wednesday night. It is believed that the missing individuals absconded in order to find work in Taiwan. The 17-person tour group's travel plans in Taiwan had been arranged by the Kepin Travel Service and was originally to take place from Aug 17 to Aug. 23.
The incident comes just one month after 17 Chinese tourists went missing on July 13, resulting in the tightening of application requirements and tourism restrictions. Tourism officials were quick to highlight yesterday that the missing persons involved in last Tuesday's disappearance had been authorized for entry before the new policies went into force.
"Customs authorization was given to the 13 missing persons on July 7, before the new restrictions were implemented after last month's incident. The authorization papers are valid for two months before expiration," Janice Lai (
In addition, Lai told reporters that since tourists absconded last time, the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan, an umbrella organization consisting of several travel agencies, agreed to temporarily refuse all tourism applications from Fujian Province.
Lai further stressed that the ban on applicants from Fujian was no government policy, but rather an agreement among travel agencies. She further explained that all of the tourists in the past two disappearances had been from Fujian Province.
While officials said that the application of the tour group in question had not been processed in accordance with newly tightened regulations, the Bureau of Tourism appeared to be considering further tightening regulations.
"We are considering a new payment method that would force tourists to present a receipt of payment, issued by the travel agency, verifying that expenses for the tour had been paid in full before personal documents are returned," Lai said.
Lai also acknowledged yesterday that no set of policies could possibly be fool-proof.
"If Chinese tourists really wants to escape, the have several opportunities to do so," Lai said. "Taiwan is a free and democratic society. What we can do is focus on filtering those authorized to travel to Taiwan during the application process," Lai said.
Because the Chinese tourists fled from their hotel rooms before room check was performed, questions have been raised as to the effectiveness of travel agency workers put in charge of greeting Chinese tourists at the airport and of knowing the whereabouts of the tourists.
Asked whether the government could possibly call off "second category" tour programs, Lai said: "That has been suggested before, but we should at least see how the new regulations work out."
Taiwan first opened its doors to Chinese tourists in January 2002, but at the time, only people in the so-called "third category" -- those who were studying overseas or who have permanent residence in a foreign country -- were permit-ted to visit.
In May 2002, the government began allowing "second category" tour groups. The second category includes visitors who make stops in other countries, either for business or pleasure, before arriving in Taiwan.
Hung Sheng-kun, Deputy Director of the National Police Agency, said yesterday that the remaining four Chinese tourists have been taken in for questioning. Information regarding the missing individuals has also been added to a police database that would alert authorities nationwide of the fleeing tourists' status.
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