Letters mailed to Lienchiang County, which includes the island of Matsu, often go astray. The reason: China also has a Lienchiang County, which is just a few kilometers from Taiwan's.
The "small three links," initiated in January 2001, allow trade, mail and people to cross the small stretch of water between Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties and China's Fujian Province.
The new links between the two government agencies with the name Lienchiang County sometimes leave the mailmen baffled.
To end to the confusion, the Lienchiang County Government under Taiwan's control recently proposed surveying its residents on whether the county's name should be changed to Matsu, a name more familiar to the public.
"Ever since we started implementing the `small three links,' cases of mail being misdelivered -- because of confusion between my county and that of China's -- are frequent," said Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Hsueh-sheng (
The confusion is a legacy of the Chinese civil war. In 1949, the retreating KMT forces took control of the province of Taiwan and also of Kinmen and Matsu, which are part of Fujian Province.
All of Kinmen County came under the KMT's control, but only part of Lienchiang County.
The opening of direct mail links between the two sides has now brought the situation to a head, Chen said.
"I personally have no specific preference as to whether the county's name should stay as Lienchiang or be changed to Matsu," said Chen, who is a member of the PFP. "The proposal is suggested purely to put an end to all the arguments over the county's name."
Aside from problems of missing mail, Chen said that many locals advocated the name change because Matsu is a more commonly used name.
Most of people in Taiwan know the 19 islets that make up Taiwan-controlled Lienchiang County as Matsu rather than by its official name.
"People who wish to have the county's name changed to Matsu said that Matsu was a name that's more well-known and recognizable to outsiders and has a higher profile in the international community," Chen said.
Chen, however, also noted that there were some locals who opposed the name change because it smacked of the independence stance held by the DPP government.
"Some people are concerned that to change the county's name would seem to support former president Lee Teng-hui's (
Chen was referring to comments by Lee that called on Taiwanese to forge a new Constitution and change the nation's name from the Republic of China to Taiwan.
"Some, who want to uphold the historical name of Lienchiang, regard any change to the county's name as a precursor to Taiwan's independence," Chen said.
The commissioner also said that because the county has only 9,000 residents, some feared that pushing for the name change would give central government politicians an excuse to abrogate Lienchiang's status as a county.
"Given all these various opinions on whether the county should change its name, we hope a majority stance can be ascertained through a survey, thereby ending the arguments," Chen said.
The county government has hired a polling company to carry out the survey, he said.
"The firm has just finished a series of explanatory meetings around the islands on this matter," Chen said. "The survey is likely to be held no later than June."
He said the survey would then be distributed to all households.
"If 70 to 80 percent of the people agree to have the county's name changed, then the county government will go ahead and submit the proposal to the county council," Chen said.
"If the county council passes the proposal, then it will take the issue to the Ministry of the Interior to begin the procedure to change the name," he said.
While this procedure is mandated in the Law on Local Government Systems (地方制度法), Lienchiang's move would set a precedent.
"So far, no local government has made such a request," said Lin Mei-chu (
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
RSS