Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/10/02
By: Chen Chia-lun and Evelyn Kao
Mayors and magistrates from the KMT meet with Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhi -jun in Beijing Sept. 18.
Taipei, Oct. 2 (CNA) A move by Chinese tour operators to promote travel to eight cities and counties in Taiwan governed by the Kuomintang-led pan-blue camp could hurt Beijing’s efforts to win the hearts and minds of people in Taiwan, Taiwanese scholars said Sunday.
Some Chinese travel agencies have organized tours to the eight cities and counties during China’s National Day holiday from Oct. 1 to 7 in response to a call for more cross-Taiwan Strait exchanges after heads of the eight governments visited China on Sept. 18.
The tours exclude several destinations normally popular with Chinese tourists, including the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Alishan National Scenic Area in Chiayi County.
National Taiwan Normal University political science professor Fan Shih-ping (范世平) said that if the new itineraries are based on the local governments’ recognition of the “1992 consensus” as a political foundation for bilateral exchanges, and if Chinese authorities are pulling the strings behind the scenes, it would show the rigidity of the Chinese regime. [FULL STORY]