Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) yesterday concluded his five-day visit to Taiwan with an enthusiastic send-off from a pro-unification group. However, protesters said he was not welcome in Taiwan.
More than 2,000 members of the China Unification Promotion Party stood and waved colorful ribbons to bid Chen farewell as his motorcade left for the airport from Sun Moon Lake in Nantou County where he had spent Thursday night.
It was estimated that more than 5,000 police from across the nation were mobilized to ensure Chen’s safety.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Earlier yesterday morning, approximately 100 Falun Gong practitioners, dressed in their signature yellow and blue uniforms, gathered near Sun Moon Lake’s Lalu Hotel where Chen was staying.
The group, considered a cult by the Beijing government, mobilized more than 10,000 people over the past week to protest against Chen’s visit. Falun Gong protesters were present at every location Chen visited during his stay.
Since 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in China have reportedly been subject to torture, imprisonment, forced labor and organ harvesting.
Two female pro-independence supporters also staged a small protest at the scenic spot. One, surnamed Lin, wrapped herself in the Democratic Progressive Party flag and said Chen should take President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and other leading Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) figures home as “souvenirs.”
“Communist Chen must get out of Taiwan now and never return. His presence causes immeasurable damage to Taiwan,” one of the protesters said.
The small clusters of protesters were confronted with an army of more than 1,000 police officers who barricaded major roads around the vacation spot with barbed wire fences.
Armed police were seen on the rooftops of all major buildings in the vicinity.
Store owners complained that the heavy police presence caused many tourists to cancel plans to visit the area.
“If it weren’t for the press corps, we would have had virtually no business for two days even though its Christmas, which should have been a busy time of the year,” souvenir shop manager Chen Jui-hsin (陳瑞新) said.
A tourist surnamed Lee said Chen’s presence ruined her family vacation at Sun Moon Lake.
“He should have been courteous enough to pick another time to come,” Lee said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING, BY STAFF WRITER
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS