Re-examining 'fact-finding' tours

　　There are undoubtedly things the Taiwan government could learn from Bali's tourism experience, but if we examine the case in front of us, then the logic of this junket begins to fade. Nantou County is a land-locked mountainous region that has been dubbed “the heart of Taiwan.” Nantou is a beautiful place - as is Bali - but other that this, they lack similarity on almost every other front. Bali is full of beaches, bars and shopping while Nantou is a rugged, sparsely populated area of forest peaks that is, of course, beachless. Could it be that this was less a “fact finding” mission and more a vacation?

Taiwan's legislators are by no means the world's biggest fans of official junkets. This summer the Foreign Policy Web site described the itinerary of a large congressional delegation led by U.S. Representative John Boehner. He and at least seven other U.S. House members enjoyed an international trip with stops in Ireland, Switzerland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Canada. The purpose of this seven-stop congressional mission was, according to the itinerary, “to discuss issues of mutual interest with government and private sector officials on issues related to global and regional economic performance and energy security.” This year another group of U.S. lawmakers decided to conduct investigations on security measures in place in Britain, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, and Italy.

It can be difficult to judge the effectiveness of such missions. Some of them seem very necessary, including one fact-finding trip by U.S. congress members this past summer that stopped in places that are hardly vacation destinations. Senator John McCain was listed as leading a delegation on a six-country tour of nations that are either active battlefields or are home to U.S. operating bases — a significant and needed tour of America's war-making capabilities. Other times however, it's hard to escape the notion that taxpayers are footing the bill for vacations.

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