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Tsai promises to make travel to China easier

"For the convenience of you Taiwanese businessmen, the government will do its best to enable you in the near future to travel to China using the `small three links' channel."

Tsai Ing-wen, Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday promised Taiwanese businessmen who are based in China that they would "in the near future" be allowed to travel from Kinmen to China without having to apply for permission to do so.

Tsai made the remarks while visiting Kinmen County yesterday.

While around 200 Taiwanese businessmen based in the Chi-nese port city of Xiamen ended their vacations in Taiwan and were about to return with their families to Xiamen from Kinmen yesterday afternoon, Tsai went to the ROC Customs hall in Kinmen to listen to their opinions on the government's "small three links" policy.

Yesterday's Kinmen to Xiamen voyage was made with the advance approval of the MAC to enable families to return to Taiwan for the Labor Day vacation.

It was the third approval granted for groups of businessmen's families, all of which have been for vacations.

The previous two occasions were Chinese New Year and Tomb Sweeping Day.

Tsai made the announcement after many of the businessmen complained that progress towards establishing direct transportation between China and Taiwan had been too slow.

"For the convenience of you Taiwanese businessmen, the government will do its best to enable you in the near future to travel to China using the `small three links' channel," she said, referring to direct travel from any of the islands without obtaining permission first.

She added that the requirement that businessmen travel in groups would be lifted at the same time.

She stressed, however, that to make sure the number of passengers does not exceed the limited capacity of Kinmen's port, the policy will at first only apply to Taiwanese businessmen working in Fujian Province, the southeastern province of China facing Taiwan.

Tsai urged the businessmen to ensure that their companies were registered with the Taiwan government as required by law.

She warned that the MAC needed to work out how it would operate the system, mentioning that the scheme may involve the MAC issuing businessmen and their families with passes allowing them to clear immigration in Kinmen and Matsu.

The "small three links," established in January last year, only allows residents of Kinmen and Matsu to travel directly to China from the two outlying island groups.

Residents of Taiwan proper may not make the crossing from either of the two islands without first obtaining such permission from the MAC.
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