Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday said that he had not heard any comments from his Chinese counterpart, Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), on a possible termination of the “small three links” between outlying Kinmen and China.
However, on the sidelines of a seminar on political developments in China, Hsia said that if Zhang did talk about a possible halt to the links should Kinmen develop a casino business, the comments were “inappropriate.”
According to local media reports, Zhang, during a visit to Kinmen with Hsia last weekend, said that if Kinmen wants to use casinos to attract Chinese visitors, China would cut the links.
Since Jan. 1, 2001, Taiwan and China have had direct trade, postal and transportation links between Taiwan’s islands of Kinmen and Matsu, and the Fujian ports of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Fuzhou.
The local media cited the TAO as saying that Zhang told a group of Kinmen entrepreneurs at a meeting that Kinmen could not count on the development of casino business to attract more Chinese tourists.
The reports came at a time when Taiwan plans to transform some of its outlying islands, including Kinmen, into casino resorts as part of the nation’s efforts to lure more foreign tourists.
MAC Deputy Minister Lin Chu-chia (林祖嘉) said he heard nothing from Zhang during the meeting about cutting the links.
Hsia said the government has repeatedly told China that the links have made great contributions to improved ties across the Taiwan Strait and that in his meeting with Zhang on Saturday, both sides agreed to improve trade ties.
According to the MAC, a total of 5,683 passenger and 609 cargo boats from Kinmen and Matsu used the three links to go to China last year, while a total of 4,493 passenger and 248 cargo vessels came from Fujian to Taiwan.
TAO spokeswoman Fan Liqing (范麗青) said that because her country bans gambling, Chinese tourists would not be allowed to gamble in Taiwan.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS