China was set Friday to open its first office in Taiwan, hoping to boost tourism, in a landmark development signalling improved relations between the two former rivals.
China's quasi-official Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association said it would formally launch its Taipei office -- reportedly its largest outside the mainland -- at a gala dinner at the capital's Grand Hotel.
"The office is established to promote exchanges between people and boost travel across the Strait," it said in a statement.
So is this East Asian hope and change or just hope for regime change?
I admit it--I'm suspicious of Chinese tourist efforts. Not just because even actual tourists can be debriefed to provide information of use to the Chinese military. And not just because tourists could be actual Chinese government agents, some of whom can just disappear to remain on Taiwan.
No, I worry that Chinese special forces could spearhead an invasion of Taiwan, arriving under the cover of a massive Chinese tourist presence that arrives by sea and air, as I wrote a year ago about the first groups to arrive:
Expedited movement of 3,000 tourists per day in organized groups to the capital and to Taiwanese ports are being practiced. If the tour groups stop being Amway and senior citizen groups and suddenly consist of sports teams whose members are unusually quiet and fit, with short hair cuts, I'd be suspicious. If Taiwan had to allow tourists, couldn't it be done on an individual basis to minimize the chance that Peking will ship over special forces troops in civilian clothes?
That Amway tour would be a convenient itinerary for assault troops, no? Imagine several days of such tour groups arriving, sporting short hair cuts and suspiciously almost all male, spreading out across key Taiwanese ports and Taepei? Nine thousand men would be about 20 light infantry battalions. If the PLA stocks warehouses on Taiwan with weapons and equipment, the first wave suddenly materializes. If they can hold the ports long enough, other hidden invaders could land quickly.
Logistics efforts for special forces could be greatly enhanced by a front organization that has as its mission the logistical care of tourists, no? And locating the office in Taipei, which would be the objective of a lightning Chinese assault, is very convenient for both tourism and covert military and intelligence support.
But I'll admit it, I'm suspicious of China's motives when it comes to Taiwan.
UPDATE: Thank yous to Mad Minverva and The View from Taiwan for links.
