Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday asked government agencies to look into whether goods and passengers will use Kinmen and Matsu as transshipment points on their way to Taiwan after the "small three links" (小三通) policy is put into effect in January.
"If the transfer of goods and passengers from China via Kinmen and Matsu to Taiwan cannot be totally prohibited, the `small three links' will likely to turn into the `big three links,' which will have a negative impact on agriculture in Taiwan," Chang said yesterday morning, in reference to fears that cheap agricultural imports from China might render local agriculture uncompetitive, furthering its decline.
According to measures approved by the Cabinet on Dec. 13, Chinese goods and people will not be allowed to use Kinmen and Matsu as transfer points to Taiwan. However, there is a fear that Taiwanese businessmen will take advantage of the new policy to illegally ship cheap Chinese goods to Taiwan via Kinmen or Matsu.
"The policy provides for trial cross-strait links only, and so [the government] will not allow goods or passengers to be transferred [via Kinmen and Matsu] and sent to Taiwan," deputy secretary-general of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Yen Wan-chin (
In response, the SEF said yesterday that six inspection posts would be set up in airports, harbors and post offices to prevent such transfers.
In a briefing to a group of members of the Control Yuan, Chan said the opening of the links is part of the government's efforts to show sincerity and goodwill toward China.
Chang said he is hopeful that the "small three links" will begin as scheduled to help forge rapprochement across the Taiwan Strait and to help boost economic development in the two offshore island groups.
Meanwhile, in preparation for the opening of "small three links," the Ministry of Transportation and Communications conducted a rehearsal of immigration and customs clearance services at the newly refurbished passenger service center at Kinmen's Liaolo (
The rehearsal involved a simulation of 200 passengers proceeding with immigration and luggage inspection in preparation for a direct voyage from Kinmen to Xiamen.
KMT Legislator Chen Ching-pao (陳清寶), however, said that the passenger terminal was only large enough to accommodate 200 people at most, so an expansion of the harbor's facilities was necessary.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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