Just In Time For Halloween...

Popular beaches, pristine waters... China's Penghu Islands seem like a perfect spot to build a casino resort. But the Associated Press reports officials in the region are fighting a history of aviation accidents which has prompted comparisons to the Bermuda Triangle.

A two-seat Taiwanese fighter jet was the latest plane to disappear last week, during a training exercise over the Taiwan Strait. Debris and body parts were found the next day, but authorities can't explain what happened.

A Taiwanese newspaper made much of the fact that 300 people have gone dead or missing near the Penghus in the past 40 years. A myth concerning magnetic irregularities in the area has been debunked by experts. More plausible hypotheses suggest increasing traffic, or simply the inherently risky nature of military training flights, for the record.

But the reputation of the Penghu Islands predates aviation. The very first settlers were Chinese sailors who wound up on the islands after they were shipwrecked. South of Penghu, an area called the "Ditch of Black Waters" covers the wrecks of many boats dating to the height of Chinese immigration to Taiwan going back three centuries.

Today, 90,000 people call the island chain home. Large, modern ships navigate the area in safety. The beaches are popular in summer, and the windsurfing season is set to begin.

Tourism officials hope the creepy legends don't stunt development, just as mainland China appears set to loosen travel restrictions.

Maybe they just need a novel marketing twist. After all, we're in the season where long lines wait outside haunted house attractions, paying perfectly good money to be scared on purpose...

Perhaps Chinese tourism officials could even adapt one of the most effective tourism slogans of all time, recently abandoned by Las Vegas. How's this sound -- "What travels to Penghu stays in Penghu!"

Nah. What were we thinking? It wouldn't be ethical to just copy something...

FMI: www.taiwan.com.au/Envtra/Islands/Penghu/index.html