To attract more Chinese tourists to Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced yesterday that Chinese visitors would be allowed to visit Taiwan via Kinmen and Matsu.
The measure was one of three policies announced by MAC Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) yesterday. All three are expected to be approved by the Executive Yuan tomorrow.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said last month that Chinese tourists arriving in Kinmen and Matsu could be granted landing or multiple-entry visas.
Beijing has yet to respond to this latest move.
While Chinese tourists visiting Kinmen and Matsu on landing visas were hitherto barred from transferring to Taiwan proper, Lai said the new initiative would allow Chinese nationals who meet certain criteria and have obtained permission from Beijing to do so.
Lai said the council was also planning to streamline the administrative procedure to allow easier access for Chinese, trade and transportation to Kinmen and Matsu.
Behind this move are plans to develop the islets into a closely knit circle with Chinese coastal cities, she said.
On trade, Lai said that as Chinese agricultural produce and seafood are smuggled to Kinmen and Matsu, the council would seek to legalize underground trade of such products through simplified customs procedures and tax exemptions.
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