Politics

Mainland Chinese independent travel program makes sense for Taiwan

(CNA)

• Publication Date：09/10/2011
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Ed Zacapa

There has been criticism in some quarters of the ROC government’s decision June 22 to open Taiwan to independent travelers from mainland China. Admittedly, initial visit numbers are nothing to write home about but this does not mean the program is a flop. Rather, it should be viewed as evidence of pragmatic policymaking and significant progress in the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

Brokered by the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation and its Beijing counterpart the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, the independent travel agreement allows up to 500 mainland Chinese from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen to enter Taiwan proper per diem for 15-day maximum sojourns. To date, over 600 visits have been made to Taiwan with the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications expecting this number to steadily increase toward the end of the year.

For Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu islands, the program is proving especially beneficial as these areas are the only ones greenlighted to receive independent mainland Chinese travelers from Fujian province. The increased flexibility of the initiative is expected to boost economic activity in these islands by up to 50 percent, according to the latest bureau forecasts.

By taking advantage of the Mini-Three-Links framework, which permits limited shipping, tourism, trade and postal services between Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu and several port cities in Fujian, the program will ensure these islands are not marginalized and used simply as stopovers for mainland Chinese tourists en route to Taiwan proper.

Already, the local governments of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu have launched a number of campaigns aimed at attracting more independent travelers from mainland China. The name of the game is promoting these islands as unique destinations where visitors can move about at their own pace soaking up the local culture as opposed to being herded like sheep between restaurants, shops and all the usual suspect tourist attractions.

In Matsu, County Magistrate Yang Suei-sheng is putting in the hard yards to ensure his islands get a large slice of the prosperity pie on offer through the program. Initiatives rolled out by Yang include discounted ferry tickets between Fujian and Matsu; promotion events in mainland Chinese cities such as Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen; and hosting travel agents from across the strait to help them get a taste of what the islands have to offer.

These measures are sure to pay handsome dividends and will help establish Matsu as a potential tourism mecca for independent cross-strait travelers looking to experience the islands’ unique architectural, cultural, ecological, geological and historical attractions. By lifting the percentage of mainland Chinese visitors to Matsu above the current 10 percent mark, more jobs will be created across a range of sectors, offering those who left the islands for Taiwan proper the opportunity to return home.

But for other parts of Taiwan, the real benefit of independent visits by mainland Chinese is not so much connected with the financial windfall that will benefit the tourism industry in the long run, but the deeper people-to-people exchanges between the two sides. These are conducive to preserving the cross-strait status quo and represent a special opportunity for more mainland Chinese to experience firsthand Taiwan’s soft power and culture.

In the greater scheme of things, such exchanges are the oil that lubricates the machinery of cross-strait ties, helping both sides better understand one another while laying the groundwork for high-level negotiations on issues spanning trade, economics and culture. Only through increased interaction at the lower levels can the Taiwan-mainland China relationship keep moving in the right direction while building mutual respect and trust.

Since Taiwan further opened to mainland Chinese tour groups three years ago, more than 3.3 million visitors have traveled to its shores, generating NT$195.8 billion (US$6.57 billion) in tourism revenue. Independent mainland Chinese tourists are expected to create business worth between NT$9 billion and NT$15 billion annually, making this a valuable segment of Taiwan’s international tourism market.

There is no doubt that the agreement will prove a boon for Taiwan’s tourist-related businesses. Local tourism and transportation operators have invested an additional NT$160 billion in their industries since regulations on visits by mainland Chinese tourists to Taiwan were eased by the government in July 2008, and this number will only climb as demand increases.

Independent visits by mainland Chinese tourists will spur the rapid development of Taiwan’s tourism infrastructure and help prepare the country to welcome even greater numbers of arrivals from across the strait. Once the initial phase of the program is completed, the daily cap on visits is expected to increase significantly, further intensifying the effect of this initiative on the market.

Instead of being quick to criticize this farsighted ROC government policy, the naysayers should give it a chance or, better still, come up with a sensible alternative capable of delivering an equally wide-ranging set of benefits for Taiwan. With thousands of independent travelers from mainland China set to arrive on the island each year, there is no question that they are bound to play a significant role in economic development. But more importantly, their presence is an effective way of building bridges between the two sides of the strait.

Ed Zacapa is a freelance writer based in Kaohsiung. These views are the author’s and not necessarily those of Taiwan Today. Copyright © 2011 by Ed Zacapa

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