Taiwan to 'loosen restrictions' on Chinese tourists --- Agence France-Presse

TAIPEI — Taiwan announced Thursday it will loosen restrictions on Chinese business and group travellers in a step towards resuming tourism exchanges with China. Beijing suspended individual tourism permits to Taiwan in 2019 in a sign of worsening relations under Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who refuses to accept China's claim over the self-ruled island. Taiwan reopened its borders to most tourists last October after years of Covid pandemic closures but travellers from mainland China remain barred. The Mainland Affairs Council, the Taiwanese government body in charge of cross-strait relations, announced on Thursday that they will "loosen restrictions" on business travellers from China from Monday. Individual Chinese nationals can also apply to enter Taiwan from another country from September 1, spokesman Jan Jyh-horng said. "We will also allow Chinese tour groups to come to Taiwan, but initially to a maximum of 2,000 people allowed in per day," Jan said. He said the resumption of group tours would happen in a month to allow for "preparation time" but no specific date was given. "Taiwanese tour groups can travel to China but the initial number will be capped at 2,000 based on reciprocity," Jan said. Currently, only individual Taiwanese travellers can enter China. Asked if the policy change amounted to Taiwan extending an olive branch to China, Jan said Taipei hoped to "resume all levels of exchanges between both sides". "We have decided today to announce our policy on organising group tours. We have made the first step and we hope they (China) can respond positively," he said Taiwan experienced a sharp drop in mainland tourists after Tsai took office in 2016, with tourism operators attributing the decline to a more negative portrayal of the island in Chinese media as well as Beijing banning group tours. Ringo Lee, chairman of a Taiwanese travel association, said Chinese tourists accounted for more than a third of the sector before the pandemic. "The situation today is not a healthy situation and it has nothing to do with Covid-19," he said, calling Thursday's announcement "a drop in the bucket". "I don't think it is enough. We need more (Chinese tourists)," he said. "The tourism sector is suffering and in dire straits." Beijing has been slowly allowing its citizens to travel again, although Taiwan remains off its list. China claims democratic Taiwan as its own and has long vowed to take the territory one day, by force if necessary. © Agence France-Presse

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more