There is a lot of excitement and expectation on both sides of the Taiwan Straight as regular flights between mainland China and Taiwan begin. Tomorrow (July 4), starting from Guangzhou, the first Chinese plane will carry Chinese tourists and Chinese with relatives on the island. During the day other planes will arrive from other mainland cities.
Thanks to an agreement signed last 13 June 18 flights per week from Monday to Friday will leave Taiwan for the mainland and vice versa. Until now only a few flights had been authorised for China’s national holiday.
Now flights will directly link Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Xiamen to Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, Taichung, Taitung and Hualian. This will allow passengers quicker movement and spare them the need to fly in through Hong Kong and Macau. By 18 July the open door policy by both sides should lead to at least 3,000 travellers per day.
On the mainland travel agencies distributed leaflets reminding tourists to use good manners, reminding them not to spit in public, to speak softly and say "excuse me" if they bump into someone.
On the island stores and restaurants put on a fresh coat of paint and have begun offering specials.
Taiwan's National Police Administration staged a mock crackdown on vendors or shopkeepers forcing mainland visitors to buy overpriced or bogus merchandise.
A major problem will be the Falun Gong spiritual movement which enjoys total freedom on the island but is banned on the mainland as an “evil cult”.
“While respecting Falun Gong followers' freedom of expression, the government will not allow personal attacks or other illegal activities in the process,” Taiwanese Prime Minister Liu Chao-shiuan said.
A 10-day tour of the island costs 10,888 yuan (HK$12,400). It includes five-star accommodation every night and covers such attractions as Alishan national park and Sun Moon Lake.
While the Chinese tourism push in Taiwan is in its infancy, held back in the past by security consideration, traffic in the other direction is well established with about 4 million Taiwanese visiting the mainland annually.
As a result of detente between mainland Chi and Taiwan in the wake of the election of Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan’s president, the island hopes to attract a million mainlanders per year. This could bring up to US$ 3 billion in business and create 45,000 extra jobs for islanders a year.
RSS