Taiwan tourism office opens in Beijing
- Source: Global Times
- [01:30 May 05 2010]
- Comments
By Deng Jingyin
A lady shows the tourism introduction pamphlets of China's Taiwan Province at the Beijing Office of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association in Beijing, China, May 4, 2010. The Beijing Office of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) held its opening ceremony at the LG Twin Towers on Jianguomenwai Road in Beijing on Tuesday. The office is a non-government institution to offer an effective platform for reciprocal communications and exchanges in tourism across the Taiwan Strait. Photo: Xinhua
Taiwan unveiled its tourism office in Beijing Tuesday, the first semi-official agency on the mainland.
The office, formally known as the Beijing office of the Taiwan Straits Tourism Association (TSTA), is located in Beijing's central business district in Chaoyang district, opposite to a popular tourist shopping market known as Silk Street.
The Cross-Straits Tourism Association (CSTA) Taipei office, the counterpart office set up by the mainland, will officially open on Saturday.
"We aim to introduce the scenery and landscapes to people on the mainland, so as to promote mutual understanding between the two sides," said Yang Ruey-tzong, director of the TSTA, according to the China National Radio (CNR).
Yang is the first senior official to based on the mainland, the report said.
The office has 10 staff members. Yang, who obtained his PhD from Taiwan Politics University that focused on the bilateral relationship, has been in tourism for nearly 20 years.
"Whether I will be competent in this job depends on the views of Taiwan and mainland tourists," he said.
Janice Lai, director-general of Taiwan Tourism Bureau and chairperson of TSTA, presided over the ceremony Tuesday.
Shao Qiwei, director of China's National Tourism Administration, also the president of CSTA, and Zheng Lizhong, deputy director of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, attended the ceremony.
The offices will provide convenient services for tourists from both sides of the Straits, with a focus on tourism consultation, advertising, coordination, and dispute resolution, Fan Liqing, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a news conference last month.
She said establishment of the offices would facilitate cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, while contributing to the mutual prosperity and development of both sides.
The opening of the offices will facilitate people's visits on both sides of the Straits, a sign of the tourism normalization between the two sides, an expert told the Global Times Tuesday.
"Besides a platform for tourism communication, it is also a sign of warming ties between the two sides," said Li Jiaquan, an expert on the Taiwan question, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Li pointed out that the relationship of both sides is getting better.
Taiwan lifted its ban on mainland tourists in June 2008.
Both sides have seen a growing number of tourists visiting each side.
The number of mainland visitors to Taiwan reached 385,000 during the first quarter, Shao was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying.
About 1.2 million mainland tourists have visited Taiwan since the ban on mainland tourists was lifted.
It is estimated that the number of tourists from the mainland will exceed 750,000 this year, creating a new climate for both sides, the CNR said Tuesday.
