Chinese authorities arbitrarily change Taiwan Tourism Bureau name, prompting Taiwan to pull out of event

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/10/08
By: Kelvin Chen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Tourism Bureau confirmed Thursday (Oct. 8) the nation had withdrawn from this year’s Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart exhibition due to Chinese interference.

Chou Ting-chang (周廷彰), deputy director of the Tourism Bureau, stated that since PATA was sponsored this year by the Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau of Leshan City in Sichuan, China, Taiwan’s name was changed to the “Taiwan Strait Tourism Association” — without authorization or prior notice. Chou stated the bureau did not accept the name change and protested several times, with bureau director Chang Hsi-tsung (張錫聰) writing a letter to the Chinese sponsor.

Huang Shifang (黃勢芳), head of the international sector of the Tourism Bureau, said that Taiwan usually participates in the annual exhibition under the name “Taiwan Tourism Bureau.” Huang said that after director Zhang wrote a letter to protest, PATA informed the main reason for the change in designation was due to China.

The organization also wrote a letter of apology stating that it would strive to allow Taiwan to participate in the exhibition under the name of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, CNA reported. However, the name was never changed back, prompting the nation to withdraw from the event.
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