Independent tourism from China has begun here in Taiwan. This will be good for everyone. Unlike tour groups, which are detestable, I am looking forward to meeting independent Chinese tourists in Taiwan. Let's let the Kuomintang News Network have the call:Lin Yuling, an individual Mainland tourist from Shanghai, said she was impressed with how courteous everyone in Taipei was, noting that compared with Shanghai, everyone here followed the rules. Lin explained that when she had studied in the US, she had hung out with Taiwanese classmates, so she got together with them last night at the Shida night market.Basically, the tourists are there to help China advance its goal of annexing Taiwan, and for the KMT to show that its engagement with China is a success. The deal between Taipei and Beijing allows 500 individual travelers to enter Taiwan per day.
Zuo Liping, another tourist and the president of a lottery investment company in Beijing, visited the National Palace Museum yesterday afternoon and then enjoyed a Taiwanese feast at the Sheraton Hotel in Taipei. Yan Ying, another tourist from Beijing, had lunch in Hsinchu and enjoyed fried rice noodles and meatball soup (gongwantang) because of their fantastic reputation on the Internet. "The food all deserved its great reputation," Yan Ying added.
Most individual Mainland tourists planned to visit places such as Sun Moon Lake, Taipei 101, the National Palace Museum, and local night markets. Moreover, two female managers, from Shanghai and Xiamen, underwent high-tech medical check-up at Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital after they arrived in Taiwan. They both stated that they were very impressed with Taiwan's medical services, adding that they would certainly visit Taiwan again.
Ye Suzhi and Ye Suzhen, two sisters, arrived in Taichung yesterday and stated in broken voices that they were in fact originally from Taiwan. However, the two sisters went on to say that after they had gone with their parents to visit their grandparents in Xiamen, Fujian Province, in 1949, they were unable to return to Taiwan because of the Chinese Civil War and had stayed in Xiamen for 62 years. The two sisters sighed, saying that the geographic distance between Xiamen and Taiwan was so short, but it had taken them "62 years to return home."
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13 comments:
If chinese tourists go to us and have mcdinald, fo you see it as a sign that chins attemps to anex us?
MT, just when I was beginning to warm to you, you go and write something like this:
"Basically, the tourists are there to help China advance its goal of annexing Taiwan, and for the KMT to show that its engagement with China is a success."
Let's be real. No, the CCP doesn't do things out of the goodness of their heart, but these tourists are in Taiwan ON HOLIDAY. They are not spies. They are not the vanguard of an invasion force. They are human beings ON HOLIDAY, and your refusal to accept them as such reflects badly on you. But then again, you already told us all that you see them as 'perps' who can be freely discriminated against.
FOARP, you are so predictably silly. Here's the Christian Science Monitor.
"China hopes the exchanges between its tourists and Taiwan's locals will advance its goal of eventual political unification. Taiwanese officials see solo tourists as a way to pump more money into its service sector, analysts say."
They are human beings ON HOLIDAY, and your refusal to accept them as such reflects badly on you
Actually, I wrote:
"Independent tourism from China has begun here in Taiwan. This will be good for everyone. Unlike tour groups, which are detestable, I am looking forward to meeting independent Chinese tourists in Taiwan"
But why let reality get in the way of your stupid obsession with me?
Michael
The funniest headline about this news item comes from the SCMP: "Six decades of suspicion finally over".
Really, SCMP?
Haha. Thanks Thomas.
Michael
FOARP wrote:
>>but these tourists are in Taiwan ON HOLIDAY...
How many such "tourists" are allowed to leave China for Taiwan and who can be these "tourists" are controlled and filtered by the Chiense government.
"ON HOLIDAY"? ... Go figure.
MT - When you write in support of refusing to serve Chinese tourists as:
"Over here, they are perps. If they don’t want political action aimed at them, they should stop invading other people’s countries.”
And say that they are in Taiwan:
"to help China advance its goal of annexing Taiwan"
The conclusion has to be that you do not welcome them.
Christian Science Monitor states that it is the CCP's hope that this will advance their goals, and it is probably true, but the tourists themselves are not "there to help China" annex Taiwan. This is the difference.
The conclusion has to be that you do not welcome them.
Yes, even though I wrote that I that it was a good idea, and that I looked forward to encountering them.
I realize you don't actually read what I write, so there isn't much point in interacting with you when you get on your obsession horse like this.
Sorry to my other readers.
Michael
Actually I am kind glad for this new connection between China and Taiwan. Not for the obvious reason that it is a ploy by the KMT to suck money out of China, or the CCP as away to say that they have finally made it safe or mainlander's to visit China's 23 providence.
But for the fact that now my girlfriend, can finally visit Taiwan and see why I loved living there for 5 years and why I hope that she would one day want to live there with me.
For a non-personal reason, I think the interaction between Chinese and Taiwanese will be good for the Chinese who are permitted to go to Taiwan. It will give them the opportunity to see how prosperous the Taiwanese are, and how rich their culture is compared to that of China. It might even go so far as to change some of the mainlanders views on how they behave in society.
Plus it could throw some extra weight into the Taiwanese corner of making sure they stay Taiwanese and not the 23rd providence of the PRC. Because they will get to see how mainlanders behave outside of their tour groups and in normal social settings. Which for someone who has been on both sides of the strait can tell you is a stark contrast.
Q for MT
When you say you welcome Chinese tourists in the opening and then say that they're here to advance China's goal of annexing Taiwan...
Out of context (although not entirely out of context since the two comments are a only a few lines apart) there's an easy conclusion to make. But from your blog it's clear to any idiot that you support Taiwan's independence, so I won't entertain the silly theory. But can you explain it a bit further? Why are you happy to see China's tourists? Is this really a gimmick to move towards annexing?
For those who are pro-unification, of course they'll be happy about this. But shouldn't everyone agree that Taiwan and China should get along? More like mature adults as opposed to spoiled children? And wouldn't allowing individual tourists come visit the country be a good step in that direction?
I don't understand the thrust of your question. Since everyone must get along, and the Chinese must grow up, change won't come more rapidly than when ordinary Chinese meet ordinary Taiwanese in unsupervised ways. Taiwan has a way of winning over people.
Of course Beijing hopes to leverage tourism into power over Taiwan. But in this case, ju-jitsu is called for.
Michael
Hey MT,
That's exactly the kind of answer I was looking for... thanks.
So you think Beijing is trying to use tourism to move closer to annexing Taiwan. At the same time, you think it will allow mainland Chinese to accept their political differences.
From the quotes in your blog you can see a lot of positive reactions that mainland Chinese have for Taiwan. But the real question we should be asking is how they feel about the political situation and how their thoughts have changed before and after their trip. That would give a chance to see the effects of tourism on mainland opinion.
Politics aside, the increase in tourism is great for Taiwan's economy. I read in the Taipei Times that Chinese tourists were spending a great deal and it has had a drastic effect on the income brought in by the tourism industry.
We have Chinese spies in Sweden so it's ridiculous to assume that China would have no interest in sending spies to Taiwan - a country far more interesting to Chinese interests than Sweden.
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