Beijing, July 23 – China has relaxed the procedures for Taiwanese tourists to visit the Himalayan region of Tibet.
Under the new rules announced by the Tourism Bureau of the Tibet autonomous region, Taiwanese tourists could visit Tibet more easily, boosting earnings from tourism, a key pillar of Tibet’s double-digit economic growth.
Previously, Taiwanese citizens who intended to travel in Tibet were required to first undergo a series of procedures in the Taiwan affairs office of the Tibet autonomous region and then they had to apply for a tourism confirmation letter from the autonomous regional tourism bureau.
Taiwanese tourists now need only to contact the local Taiwan affairs office before entering the autonomous region as the requirement of a confirmation letter has been abrogated.
Zhang Rong, head of the autonomous regional Taiwan affairs office, said apart from tourists, in the future, Taiwan compatriots who intend to visit their relatives or do field research in Tibet could also directly contact the local Taiwan affairs office, instead of the local foreign affairs office as before.
China views Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunified with the mainland. Since the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan straits have been tense, there is no direct transportation service between the mainland China and Taiwan island.
In the absence of direct transportation routes, Taiwanese tourists intending to visit Tibet has to go via Hong or Macao to mainland China before reaching Tibet.
