Kinmen County Government said yesterday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) had rejected its request to set up a visa application office for foreigners, but insisted it would not give up its goal.
The ministry rejected the request because it believed few foreign travelers would use the so-called “three small links” to travel between Taiwan and China, the county government said.
The three small links refer to cross-strait ferry services between the Taiwan-held island counties of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu and Chinese ports in Fujian Province that were opened in January 2001.
Kinmen is trying to position itself as a key transit hub for travel across the Taiwan Strait, encouraging travelers to take a ferry between China and Kinmen and then flying between Kinmen and Taiwan.
The ministry said, however, that foreigners who hold valid passports from 35 countries could already enter Taiwan without visas.
Few foreigners travel via the three small links making it unnecessary to open a visa office in Kinmen, the ministry said.
The demand for landing visas is low at the country’s second largest international gateway, Kaohsiung International Airport, with only about six or seven foreign passengers applying for a visa upon arrival per month, the ministry said.
With such minimal demand, the ministry has no plans to open visa offices in Kinmen or other locations eligible for direct cross-strait transportation services.
Despite the government’s explanation, Kinmen County Government said it would keep pursuing a visa office as part of its goal to turn the county into a major gateway to Taiwan.
The Executive Yuan expanded the three small links in June, allowing residents from Taiwan and foreign passengers, including those from Hong Kong and Macau, to travel between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait using the route.
In the past, only residents on the three outlying islands and Taiwanese business people were permitted to use the service.
From July to last month, 2,320 foreigners — including those from Hong Kong and Macau — traveled between Taiwan and China via the three small links, statistics compiled by the county’s tourism bureau showed.
But most of them were eligible for visa free treatment or had applied for a visa prior to their entry, the same figures showed.
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