Regulations on travel from Taiwan to China via Kinmen and Matsu will be relaxed as early as this week to facilitate the development of the outlying islands, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said yesterday.
Direct cross-strait travel is still restricted to a ferry service between the offshore islands and China's Fujian Province, also known as the "small three links," which was implemented in January 2001.
Travel agencies in Kinmen and Matsu will be allowed to advertise the route from China to Taiwan via the "small three links" to Chinese and to allot the same number of Taiwanese to travel to China via the route, Chen said.
The expansion plan of the "small three links" service will be implemented on the condition that people traveling between the two countries spend at least one night in Kinmen or Matsu to boost the local economy, he said.
Initially, the service was available only for residents of Kinmen or Matsu wishing to visit China, while Chinese citizens could enter the offshore islands to conduct business or visit as tourists.
With gradual expansion of the scheme over the years, people with addresses registered in Kinmen and Matsu for at least six months, businesspeople with operations in China and their employees and family members, veterans originally from China and Fujian Province residents married to Taiwanese are now allowed to travel to China via the route.
The island county of Penghu was also included in the "small three links" arrangement last year.
Applications filed by residents of Taiwan proper to travel to China via the offshore islands will be reviewed by the government on a case-by-case basis.
"Many people from Penghu and Taiwan proper didn't stay overnight in Kinmen or Matsu when using the `small three links' route, contributing little to the local economy," Chen said.
The Mainland Affairs Council will present a proposal regarding the expansion this week and expects to get a green light from the Cabinet before March 22 presidential election at the latest, he said.
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