Mainland tourists, great spenders in Taiwan
Taiwanese media also noted small and not so small incidents. Mainland China tourists were accused of spitting. Three mainland tourists were reported missing. Two of them, from Zhongshan (Guangdong), said they had not been able to find their way back to their hotel. The third has yet to be found.
Chinese tourists have to respect regulations, which do not allow visitors to depart from the designated programmes and leaving a tourist group. Any violation would result in the tourist being banned from returning to Taiwan for five years.
On the mainland the press gave the event a more positive spin, praising the locals for their welcome and cordiality and for well organising the trip. Chinese papers also stressed how mainland tourists can prop up the island's sagging economy.
To avoid any embarrassing situations, Taiwanese officials vowed to prevent any anti-mainland demonstrations. Followers of Falun Gong, a group banned in China, were asked to stay away from several popular tourist sites to avoid contact with Chinese tourists.
The two countries have had no relations since 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek fled the mainland and set up a separate government on the island.
After 1987 very limited contacts became possible. Some 300,000 mainlanders were allowed to travel to the island for business or visit relatives.
Now the two sides have agreed to let 3,000 mainland visitors travel to the island daily, which is about a million a year.
.png)
