US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI4572

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 004572 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/TC 
DEPT PASS AIT/W 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2015 
TAGS: ECON, CH, TW 
SUBJECT: TAIWAN PRAISES PRC TOURISM VISIT 
 
REF: TAIPEI 4310 
 
Classified By: AIT Director Douglas H. Paal, Reason 1.4 d 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (SBU) Shao Qi-wei, Director of the PRC's China 
National Tourism Administration (CNTA) wrapped up a ten- 
day trip to Taiwan on November 6.  The Taiwan government 
took every effort to make Shao's visit a success, 
including removing items labeled "Republic of China" from 
sites visited and expressing regret for protests against 
the visit.  At the end of the visit, Shao identified the 
Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association as the PRC 
organization that would coordinate consultations with 
Taiwan on tourism.  Taiwan officials hailed the visit as 
a success, but political obstacles remain.  Further 
progress on the tourism initiative is unlikely before 
Taiwan's December 3 elections.  End summary. 
 
Shao Sees Whole Island but Few Officials 
---------------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) Shao Qi-wei, Director of the PRC's China National 
Tourism Administration (CNTA) wrapped up a ten-day trip 
to Taiwan on November 6.  Shao led a delegation of 65 
national and local tourism officials and travel agency 
representatives on a comprehensive familiarization tour 
of all of Taiwan's major tourist destinations.  Stops 
included Taipei, Taoyuan, Ali Shan, Kaohsiung, Tainan, 
Kenting, Taitung, Taroko Gorge, and Hualien. 
 
3. (C) Shao was invited by the Taiwan Visitors 
Association (TVA), an association made up of industry 
associations and companies but controlled by the Ministry 
of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).  According 
to Taiwan officials, one of the PRC conditions for the 
visit was that Shao would not have any formal meetings 
with Taiwan government officials.  Taiwan observed this 
condition.  However, Taiwan officials were guests at some 
events that Shao attended.  Notably, Legislative Yuan 
Chairman Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwan Tourism Bureau Deputy 
Director General Lai She-jen, and Mainland Affairs 
Council (MAC) Economics Department Director Fu Don-cheng 
attended the welcome dinner for Shao on his first night 
in Taiwan.  Former KMT chairman Lien Chan also attended. 
Lai's boss, Taiwan Tourism Bureau Director General Hsu 
Wen-sheng, told AIT/T that Taiwan's Legislative Yuan had 
threatened to cut his budget if he met with Shao.  Shao 
met privately with People's First Party (PFP) Chairman 
James Soong on the ninth day of the visit.  When Shao 
visited Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on the second 
day of his visit, MOTC Minister Lin Ling-san was giving a 
speech in a different part of the building.  Lin invited 
Shao to attend the speech, but Shao declined. 
 
4. (U) The Taiwan government took every effort to make 
Shao's visit a success.  TVA asked hotels and other 
locations on Shao's itinerary not to display items with 
Taiwan's official name "Republic of China."  After Taiwan 
groups protested the delegation's visit in Taichung and 
Kaohsiung, MAC issued a press release expressing regret 
and calling on the people of Taiwan to treat the visitors 
as guests. 
 
PRC Identifies Window for Consultations 
--------------------------------------- 
 
5. (U) On the final evening of the visit at a dinner in 
Taipei, Shao made a statement confirming the PRC's 
commitment to move forward on the tourism initiative. 
The most important sign of concrete progress as a result 
of the visit was his formal announcement that the Cross- 
Strait Tourism Exchange Association (CSTEA) would be the 
PRC coordinator for consultations with Taiwan on the 
tourism initiative.  Taiwan identified the Travel Agency 
Association of the Republic of China (TAAROC) as its 
coordinating organization in August.  (Note: AIT/T has 
previously identified this organization as the Travel 
Agents Association of Taiwan.  Its Chinese name in pinyin 
is Zhonghua Minguo Luxing Gonghui Quanlianhui.  It is a 
relatively new organization formed by combining the 
travel agent associations from Taipei and Kaohsiung with 
an association that covers the rest of the island.  End 
note.) 
Taiwan Hails Results 
-------------------- 
6. (C) MAC issued a press release praising the visit and 
calling for further progress.  TAAROC Assistant Chairman 
Yao Ta-kuang told AIT/T that the visit was very 
successful.  He said that the two sides had agreed to 
arrange consultations based on mutual convenience, noting 
that there was no timetable set for discussions. 
 
7. (C) Tourism Bureau's Hsu told AIT/T that Shao's trip 
was very useful and highlighted the PRC decision to 
identify the CSTEA as its window for consultations. 
Previously, he explained, the PRC had only used agencies 
that were strictly government entities for such 
negotiations.  MAC officials also emphasized the 
importance of the PRC's decision to identify CSTEA as its 
window for consultations, though MAC Chairman Joseph Wu 
privately noted to the Deputy Director that this was one 
more effort by Beijing to avoid using the word "China," 
as in China National Tourism Administration, to describe 
cross-Strait negotiations. 
 
8.  (C) Hsu explained that now CSTEA and TAAROC would 
proceed through informal communication to resolve the 
outstanding issues.  Despite lingering security and 
immigration concerns at some Taiwan government agencies, 
Hsu believes there are no outstanding issues that will be 
difficult to resolve.  He commented that the only 
remaining obstacles were political ones, noting that 
TAAROC may have to change the name it uses in these 
consultations to remove the ROC label.  (Note: Much of 
TAAROC's leadership is the same as that of the Taipei 
Association of Travel Agents, which would be a more 
acceptable nomenclature for the PRC.  End note.)   Hsu 
said that there would be no significant progress on the 
tourism initiative before Taiwan's December 3 elections. 
 
Chinese New Year Charter Flights 
-------------------------------- 
 
9.  (C) Pending progress on both Chinese tourists to 
Taiwan and regular cross-Strait passenger and cargo 
charter flights, MAC's Wu told the Deputy Director, 
Taipei is prepared to move ahead quickly on an interim 
Chinese New Year charter flight agreement for flights 
starting two to three weeks before the Lunar New Year on 
January 29 and extending for two to three weeks after the 
holiday. Taipei, he told the Deputy Director, expects to 
begin negotiating with PRC representatives sometime this 
week (November 13-19) using the January 2005 "Macao 
Model."  Taipei hopes to expand the New Year charter 
flights, Wu continued, to include all Taiwan passport 
holders and perhaps even foreigners working for Taiwan 
businesses in Mainland China. 
 
10.  (C) Wu told the Deputy Director that Taipei is also 
hoping to expand the number of cities in Mainland China 
covered by the New Year charters, but will not accede to 
Beijing's request to include Taipei's Sungshan Airport. 
Wu explained that Sungshan exclusively served the Taiwan 
domestic travel market and no longer had immigration and 
customs services.  Wu noted that Taiwan had proposed 
adding Okinawa as a transit Flight Information Region 
(FIR) in addition to the Hong Kong FIR.  Flying via 
Okinawa's airspace instead of Hong Kong's would shorten 
the routes from Taipei to Shanghai and Beijing by 350 
miles and 180 miles respectively.  (Comment:  Taipei also 
prefers Okinawa as a transit FIR because it would 
strengthen the argument that cross-Strait flights are 
international.  End Comment.) 
Paal