Taiwan's decision to allow Chinese citizens to visit its frontline islands is part of an effort to reach out to rival China and is also designed to enrich the heavily fortified islets, a top Cabinet official said.
"Through the `small three links,' we're expressing our sincerity and goodwill towards the mainland," Cabinet Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (
Taiwan announced last Wednesday it would allow people from China to visit Kinmen (金門) and Matsu (馬祖) from China's southeastern province of Fujian on a trial basis for one year from Jan. 1.
The decision includes the easing of a decades-old ban on trade, transport and postal links, the so-called three links, between the Cold War adversaries.
"It is also designed to make Kinmen and Matsu prosperous," Chiou, the Cabinet's third most senior official, said.
It was unclear if China, which has not held any talks with Taiwan on the planned opening, would go along with the plan.
The March election victory of President Chen Shui-bian (
Chiou, Cabinet secretary-general, dismissed speculation Taipei was dragging its feet on the "big three links" -- trade, transport and postal links between Taiwan proper and China.
"This is a big misunderstanding," Chiou said. "We're not trying to delay anything."
Chiou said the ball was in Beijing's court and it was up to it as to when the two sides could resume dialogue, frozen by the China since July 1999 to punish the island for demanding political parity.
"This is not entirely in our hands," he said.
As a Cold War flashpoint, Kinmen's beaches were sown with landmines and its hills bristled with radars and artillery emplacements.
Kinmen has been turned into a tourist destination over the past decade, but it still lives under military threat and is defended by several troop divisions.
Taiwan's Bureau of Entry and Exit yesterday began accepting applications for Chinese to visit Kinmen and Matsu. Up to 700 Chinese can visit at any one time and stay for up to seven days.
Chiou said Chinese businessmen, academics, students and residents with relatives in Kinmen or Matsu can apply through Taiwan travel agencies to visit the island fortresses as part of tour groups of 10 to 25 people.
But Communist Party cadres, Chinese soldiers and government officials and ex-convicts are barred from visiting.
Permanent residents of Kinmen and Matsu can sail directly to and from Fujian in Taiwan vessels. Chinese ships are barred from ferrying passengers and goods. No flags can be flown.
China-bound Taiwan residents will still be required to go through Hong Kong or a third country and would not be allowed to use Kinmen or Matsu as a gateway due to security reasons. Chiou said customs and quarantine officials would man Kinmen and Matsu airports, harbors and post offices to prevent Chinese goods from flowing to Taiwan proper.
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
The zero emissions ship Porrima P111 was launched yesterday in Kaohsiung, showcasing the nation’s advancement in green technology, city Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. The nation last year acquired the Swiss-owned vessel, formerly known as Turanor PlanetSolar, in a bid to boost Taiwan’s technology sector, as well as ecotourism in Palau, Chen said at the ship’s launch ceremony at Singda Harbor. Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also attended the event. The original vessel was the first solar-powered ship to circumnavigate the globe in a voyage from 2010 to 2012. Taiwan-based Porrima Inc (保利馬) installed upgrades with
ENHANCE DETERRENCE: Taiwan has to display ‘fierce resolve’ to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains, Koo said Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday. His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.” Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese
RSS