Taiwan opens tourism representative office in Beijing

Beijing - Taiwan opened its first tourism representative office in Beijing on Tuesday, marking another indication of improving ties between the island and the mainland.

The office is located in a high-rise across the street from Beijing's the famous silk market, a popular tourist spot in the Chinese capital.

"Everybody can find us," Taiwan tourism officials were quoted as saying by Beijing newspapers.

Taiwan Tourism Minister Janice Lai was present at the opening of the representative office in Beijing.

The chairman of China National Tourism Administration, Shao Qiwei, is scheduled to open a tourism office in Taipei on Friday.

Both offices are to promote tourism and handle tourists' problems, but will not issue visas.

Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war in 1949.

Tension eased in the late 1980s when Taiwan allowed its citizens to visit China. Relations improved sharply after Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou took power in 2008 and allowed Chinese tourists to visit the island.

Last year, some 4 million Taiwanese visited China, while 970,000 mainlanders visited Taiwan.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan has risen from the daily average of 300 in 2008 to 3,219 in 2010, officials said.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/321892,taiwan-opens-tourism-representative-office-in-beijing.html.