In a move expected to further boost cross-strait confidence in the wake of Saturday's presidential elections, the legislature yesterday passed amendments to legislation which will ease the government's ban on the so-called "small three links" between Taiwan's offshore islands and China.
"It is a goodwill gesture from Taiwan," said KMT lawmaker Chen Ching-pao (
The revisions to the Offshore Islands Development Bill will allow Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu to open direct trade, transport and communications links with the mainland, lifting a ban of more than 50 years.
The bill still needs approval from the Cabinet and the President.
A full lifting of the "three links" ban between all of Taiwan and the mainland could be approved if the experiment is successful, according to Chen, who represents Kinmen in the legislature.
"It should be a trouble-free start," he said, although he admitted that it is a much more complicated issue to consider opening up the main island of Taiwan to direct links.
In recent years, residents of the three islands -- which are closer to China than they are to Taiwan -- have conducted sea trade with mainland fishing boats, buying seafood and other daily necessities from mainland fishermen with cash or through barter trade.
People traveling between China and Taiwan currently must change planes in Hong Kong or another third country, while ships crossing the Taiwan Strait must similarly dock at a third country's port or at least pick up new papers there.
Although the legal barriers from the Taiwan side have been criticized for adding unnecessary costs and red tape to the operations of those either traveling to or doing business in China, the government has maintained that opening up such links would endanger national security.
Several prominent business leaders have been outspoken in their opposition to the ban, such as Chang Jung-fa (
In reality, the ban has been openly defied by traders on the offshore islands for a number of years, as boats have been sailing directly to the mainland with both passengers and goods.
The unofficial direct exchanges have been tolerated by both sides.
Chinese boats also take part in the trade, which deliver fresh food and supplies from the mainland to the islands, home to a large military community.
Chen said duties would be imposed on goods traded between the two sides. It was also hoped that the move would increase tourist traffic to the region.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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