One of two planned trial voyages to test the "small three links" has been cancelled, a KMT lawmaker said yesterday.
Chen Ken-teh (
The lawmaker said that Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐), secretary-general of the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), called him on Tuesday to say that MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had ordered preparations for the trip halted.
"I don't know what Tsai's motive is. Does this indicate there was a U-turn in our policy? We've discussed this plan for weeks," Chen said.
Chen said Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Taiwan announced on Dec. 13 plans to open direct postal, transportation and trade links between the outlying island groups of Kinmen (金門) and Matsu (馬祖) and China's Xiamen (廈門) and Fuzhou (福州) cities beginning on Jan. 1. Because, Beijing has offered little response to the proposal so far, however, two groups of lawmakers proposed trial voyages to ease public concern about unpredictable responses from China resulting from Taiwan's decision.
Both groups are set to depart on Dec. 28. A group led by KMT lawmaker Chen Ching-pao (陳清寶), who has directly contacted Xiamen authorities, appears to be encountering less obstacles. By comparison, the trip organized by Chen Ken-teh, a member of the legislature's Committee of Transportation and Communications, stalled because Chen sought assistance from the SEF, Taiwan's semi-official mechanism to deal with cross-strait relations.
Shi Hwei-yow told the Taipei Times that Tsai had indeed made the phone call to tell him to put Chen's documents aside temporarily, and that he could not send the relevant papers to China without an approval from MAC.
But MAC said in a press conference yesterday evening that there was a misunderstanding, adding that the documents requested were ready. MAC officials also said they would notify the SEF right away to contact the Chinese government if Chen still plans to make the trip.
"How can I have enough time to prepare for the necessary papers now that Tsai has delayed my plan? I just don't understand why she made that phone call to Shi Hwei-yow, telling him to discontinue the proceeding," he said.
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