Ten Taiwanese businessmen, residents of Taiwan proper, yesterday afternoon sailed direct from Kinmen to Xiamen, on China's east coast, the first time an exception had been made to the regulation that direct cross-strait trips may only be made by residents of Kinmen under the provisions of the "small three links" (小三通) policy.
"The voyage was approved as a special case. The purpose is to enable Taiwanese businessmen to experience the effects of the policy for themselves. If this trial run works, the government will consider further relaxing the policy (
PHOTO: WU CHENG-TING, TAIPEI TIMES
Brushing aside concerns about whether the government would lift the restriction on cross-strait passenger transit via Kinmen, Tsai said that she hoped the small three links policy would mark an end to cross-strait confrontation and a new beginning for peaceful co-existence and co-prosperity.
Deputy Secretary-General of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF,
"If the interaction between both sides of the Strait is benign, [the government] is likely to modify the restrictions," Yen said, adding that he believed that all Taiwanese residents should be able to enter China via the outlying island groups of Kinmen and Matsu.
Under the small three links policy, however, only Kinmen and Matsu residents whose households have been registered in Kinmen or Matsu for over six months are allowed to apply for permits to enter China from Kinmen.
At yesterday's Chinese New Year gathering, New Party lawmaker Lee Chu-feng (
Such cross-strait trips, however, require approval from the governments of both sides. The Chinese authorities seem to be more welcoming of Taiwanese businessmen than of private Taiwanese citizens.
"It should be easier for Taiwanese businessmen [than for private citizens] to get approval [from China] to enter Xiamen," director of Xiamen city government Yang Lipo (
The businessmen, whose voyage was approved by both Taiwan's MAC and Fujian Province's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), arrived in Xiamen at around 3pm yesterday. Xiamen's TAO and its city government held a dinner banquet to welcome the businessmen, who included Huang Tieh-jung (
Vice-chairman of the SEF, Shi Hwei-yow (
"The success of the voyage shows that [cross-strait] links can be established even without conducting negotiations beforehand, although this case is exceptional," Shi said, adding that he believed cross-straits talks were still needed to consolidate the policy.
Tsai said that Taiwan and China should increase economic exchange and cooperation, and gradually expand constructive interaction to other fields since the two sides will soon be admitted to the WTO.
"The WTO accession is expected to provide a framework and common regulations for wide-ranging cross-strait commercial exchanges and cooperation, and facilitate the establishment of a new formula for bilateral engagement," Tsai added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique