First individual Chinese tourists arrive in Taiwan

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has been making efforts to forge closer China relations.

Taipei: The first individual Chinese tourists have begun arriving in Taiwan amid steadily warming ties between the two sides.

Dozens arrived on Tuesday, underscoring Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou`s continuing efforts to forge closer China relations, the centrepiece of his three-year-old administration.

Previously, Chinese tourists could only travel to Taiwan in supervised groups.

Last year, 1.6 million Chinese tourists visited the island.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing continues to claim Taiwan as its territory.

Bureau Report