CHINA has stepped up its propaganda campaign in a bid to repair relations with Taiwan in the wake of the Qiandao Lake tourist boat tragedy.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday China was making every effort to uncover the cause of the blaze aboard the pleasure boat last month that left 32 dead, including 24 Taiwan tourists.
In an attempt to quieten an outcry in Taiwan amid accusations of foul play, the Foreign Ministry pledged that the findings of the investigation would be made public as soon as possible.
''The departments concerned are combining their efforts to deal with the aftermath of the incident, making further investigations into its cause and trying to find out the truth. They will make it [the outcome] public as soon as possible,'' a spokesman said.
''We do not wish to see a repetition of this tragedy.'' The Taiwan Cabinet on Wednesday suspended all sightseeing tours to China - effective from May 1 - following an earlier decision to suspend all cultural and educational exchanges and threats of sweeping economic reprisals.
In its upcoming edition, the Outlook Weekly magazine calls for calm and objectivity in handling the incident.
