China was set to open its first quasi-official office in Taiwan, hoping to boost tourism, in a landmark development signaling improved relations between the two former rivals. China's Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association said it will formally launch its Taipei office at a gala dinner at the capital's Grand Hotel.
Taiwanese authorities have said that tourism grew in the island faster than anywhere else in Asia last year thanks to mainland visitors. More than one million Chinese tourists have come to Taiwan since 2008. (Source: Agence France Presse, Taipei Times, May 8, 2010).