A Chinese mainland official has expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with a serious tour-bus accident on Tuesday in Taiwan.

Liu Kezhi, secretary-general of the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, made the statement to the media in Taoyuan City after a remembrance service for those who died in the accident.

Liu says several serious accidents have happened in Taiwan which caused large casualties to mainland tourists in recent years, and the mainland-based association has repeatedly urged relevant authorities in Taiwan to attach importance to the problem and ensure their safety.

"But another such serious and deadly accident has occurred again, and here we express strong dissatisfaction with that. And we hope that relevant departments of Taiwan will take concrete measures, attach great importance to safety of mainland tourists and prevent such problems from happening again."

Liu said he hoped Taiwan would launch a thorough investigation into the accident and listen to the relatives of the victims when handling the aftermath of the accident.

26 people, including 23 tourists and a tour guide from the mainland and two local people, were killed when a tour bus crashed into a highway barrier and caught fire near Taoyuan airport on Tuesday.

Initial investigations indicate that the fire might have been caused by a circuit malfunction inside the coach.

Liu is leading a mainland working group that arrived in Taiwan Wednesday to help handle the aftermath of the accident.

A meeting was held between the mainland group and the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association to discuss the accident on Wednesday.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)