Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Su had planned to make a celebratory announcement of the policy adjustment from Kinmen, but was forced to cancel his symbolic speech there when bad weather left him stranded at Taipei's Songshan Airport.
The government allows postal, cargo and personal transport via sea links between Kinmen and Xiamen, as well as Matsu and Fuzhou under the "small three links." Regulations restrict the exchanges to residents of Kinmen and Matsu, traveling in a group with a minimum of 10 people.
However, Su announced that starting next Monday, the government will suspend the minimum group requirement -- permitting individuals to travel alone -- and will add a new shipping route between Kinmen and Quanzhou on June 1.
"This idea came from Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] Legislator Tsao Erh-chang (
In addition, people who are registered residents of Kinmen or Matsu for at least six months will also be allowed to use the small three links to travel to and from China accompanied by dependents and relatives who do not live on the islands.
Taiwanese businesspeople with operations in China, veterans who were born in Fujian Province or who have Fujianese ancestry and Fujian residents married to Taiwanese may also use the small three links.
The small three links were implemented on Jan. 1, 2001. In the first year, approximately 25,000 people traveled using the links. That number has climbed steadily, and last year 555,000 travelers had taken advantage of the links to travel to China.
Su also extended an invitation to the Chinese government to participate in search-and-rescue drills in the area.
Su said the two governments should be able to cooperate more effectively during such operations to ensure the safety of passengers who travel between Taiwan and China by sea.
"If they [Chinese rescuers] and we are familiar with the drills, we will be able to help whoever needs help at the first instance, and could save a lot of lives should an accident take place," Su said.
"We believe that the relationship between Taiwan and China should be to help each other instead of fight each other," he said. "I must say, these new decisions were the results of our brainstorming instead of impromptu statements."
Su said that President Chen Shui-bian (
The premier was planning to lead a group of 45 reporters to land on Kinmen and make his announcements there. However, the continuous heavy rain forced the air force to cancel the flight. Su then organized a press conference at the Songshan air base.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS