Mainland official expresses 'strong dissatisfaction' with serious bus accident

TAIPEI -- A Chinese mainland official on Thursday 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 press in Taoyuan city after a remembrance service for those who died in the accident.

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.

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

According to the official, the mainland-based association had repeatedly urged Taiwan to ensure the safety of mainland tourists after a series of accidents involving a number of mainland tourist casualties.

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

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