Taiwan's silence devastates tourism

Taiwan authorities' apparent unwillingness to endorse the 1992 Consensus has seriously affected the island's tourism and hospitality industry, the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday.

At a recent rally, tourism workers in Taiwan "clearly voiced their hopes and desires", said Ma Xiaoguang, from the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a news conference. "Taiwan's government has refused to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus since taking office in May. This has damaged all the hard work toward peaceful relations across the Taiwan Straits," he said. "Whoever started the trouble should end it."

More than 15,000 hospitality and tourism workers in Taiwan took to the streets in downtown Taipei on Monday, demanding the island's authorities do something about the failing industry.