Travel agents on Thursday threatened to protest the inauguration in May if the government does not explain its legal basis for renewing a ban on tours to China.
The Tourism Administration on Wednesday said it was to cancel a plan to reopen group tours to China, as Beijing had not reciprocated Taiwan’s show of goodwill.
The agency had originally planned to reopen tours on March 1 following a suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Taiwanese who have already paid for tours to China between March 1 and May 31 could still go, but a complete ban would take effect on June 1, it said.
The announcement sent travel agents into a panic, Travel Agent Association of Taiwan vice chair Eric Wu (吳雁輝) told a news conference at Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headquarters in Taipei.
Tours to China contribute significantly to the domestic tour industry’s income, he said.
Already, 70 to 80 percent of tours in June have been booked, and bookings have already begun for summer tours, Wu said.
Legal restrictions for the pandemic have been lifted, he said, asking the government to explain its legal basis for banning group tours, especially when individual travel is allowed.
Wu said that many tour operators have already told him they plan to protest at the inauguration on May 20 if a reasonable explanation is not given.
The Democratic Progressive Party government said it would lift the ban before the election, only to renege on its promise less than a month after, KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said.
Separately, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that Taiwan has reciprocal tourism relationships with the rest of the world.
China has not shown any goodwill since Taiwan made the decision to reopen tours, and even unilaterally decided to alter flight routes near Taiwan, he said.
The minister also said that tour operators can merge their summer tours with those leaving before May 31.
Additional reporting by CNA
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS