The government has allowed shipping firms to offer direct passenger services between Penghu County and China since 2008, although none have yet applied to do so, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said yesterday.
Wang made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting at the legislature in Taipei in response to media queries for comment about Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) proposal to launch direct ferry services between the outlying county and China’s Fujian Province, as are offered from Kinmen and Lienchiang counties.
Han, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, made the promise to Penghu County Commissioner Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) at a campaign rally in Penghu on Sunday.
The county does not have a direct ferry service to China, even though it is permitted by law, Lai told Han, adding that the lack of such services means most Chinese tourists from Fujian arrive in Penghu via Kinmen.
Lai said that he has been working to establish direct services from Penghu to Xiamen and Pingtan, as well as direct flights from Penghu’s Magong Airport to Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport.
However, as cross-strait affairs fall under the jurisdiction of the central government, none of these services would be realized if the government disapproves, he said.
Tourists from Fujian are indeed more likely to arrive in Penghu via Kinmen and Lienchiang, Wang said yesterday, adding that Penghu’s cross-strait shipping services are mostly for cargo.
Chinese tourists often arrive on chartered vessels, he said.
Penghu welcomes about 1.2 million domestic tourists annually and that number is rising at about 10 percent per year, he said.
The number of tourists visiting Penghu has grown from about 1.15 million in 2017 to 1.8 million last year, Tourism Bureau statistics showed.
About 1.1 million tourists have visited the outlying island this year to last month, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, the statistics showed.
Penghu has emerged as a popular travel destination thanks to the government’s travel subsidy program, the bureau said.
The program has subsidized 173 tour groups and 88,000 independent visitors to the islands, it said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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