Taiwan News
EDITORIAL
Date: 2016-07-21
By: Taiwan News, Staff Writer

A tour bus drives on a freeway for more than 1 kilometer with smoke billowing out of its side. It then hits a railing on one side of the road before crashing into the railing on the other side and bursting into a sea of flames and black smoke.

That strange situation occurred in Taoyuan City last Tuesday, and 26 people lost their lives as a result. The driver, a Taiwanese tour guide, a Chinese guide, and 23 tourists, including three teenagers.

The fact that the tourists all came from China turned the disaster into an international event and also focused attention on why Taiwan seems to have turned into a particularly deadly destination for Chinese visitors.

Since 2008, more than 80 Chinese citizens died in a variety of traffic accidents in Taiwan, an average of ten per year, and more than 100 were injured. While serious traffic accidents happen in every country, the number involving Chinese tourists in Taiwan has been surprisingly high.     [FULL  STORY]