The number of passengers traveling between Kinmen County and China via the “small three links” is expected to reach 2 million this year, up 10 percent annually, Kinmen County Commissioner Yang Cheng-wu (楊鎮浯) has said.
The total number of people traveling via the links since their launch in 2001 reached 10 million in 2013, Kinmen County Tourism Department data showed.
The department expects the number to reach 2 million during the Dragon Boat Festival from Friday to Sunday, which would be a remarkable milestone for the county’s tourism industry, Yang said.
Yang said that he hopes the number would reach 30 million before his term ends in 2022.
He pledged to further improve the quality of tourism in the county, but said that it takes time to optimize harbor facilities and infrastructure.
Since Jan. 1, 2001, Taiwan and China have had direct trade, postal and transportation links, commonly known as the small three links, between Kinmen and Matsu, and Xiamen, Quanzhou and Fuzhou in China’s Fujian Province.
Taiwan and China established direct flights and shipping links in 2008.
In related news, in an effort to boost local tourism, the Kinmen County Government distributed gift bags to all passengers traveling on a randomly selected ferry every day from Monday to Saturday last week.
Chinese Cai Wenting (蔡雯婷) walked away with the biggest prize — 20 small three links tickets and a bottle of kaoliang liquor.
Cai, who was traveling to Kinmen for a day trip with two friends, said that the prize was completely unexpected.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS