Taiwan is not doing enough to promote new shipping links between two outlying island groups and China, an opposition legislator said yesterday.
KMT lawmaker Chen Ching-pao's (陳清寶) criticism came about a week after Taiwan lifted a five-decade ban on direct voyages between Matsu and Kinmen and China's southeastern coast.
Taiwan's government hailed the new policy as a goodwill gesture to China and the possible beginning of a new era of cooperation with its giant communist neighbor.
But since the restrictions were eased, only two Taiwanese boats have legally sailed to China, and no Chinese boats have made the trip to the Taiwanese islands, which are situated just off China's coast.
Yesterday, Chen said that the Taiwanese boats being allowed to carry passengers were too small and that the designated sailing route was too long and made the voyage inconvenient.
More Taiwanese could make the trip if boats weighing more than 20 tonnes were allowed to sail from a Kinmen port that was closer to China.
Currently, the trip from Kinmen to China's Xiamen port takes more than two hours, Chen said.
Chen added that although 5,838 Kinmen residents have applied to visit China, only 3,400 applications have been approved.
About 180 Kinmen residents have so far made the historic voyage, Chen said. "I really don't know the reasons why direct links are so difficult," said Chen, who is the representative for Kinmen.
Taiwanese boats that want to sail to China must first get permission from a special panel set up by Taiwan's government. The vessels must also use specific ports on Kinmen and Matsu.
Taiwan did not negotiate with China before lifting the ban because long-standing political disputes have blocked official talks of any kind. So far, China has given only a lukewarm welcome to the policy and has offered a vague pledge to cooperate.
Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Shui-tsai (陳水在), meanwhile, said yesterday that Taiwan and China needed to begin talks so that they could expand the links, the semi-official Central News Agency reported.
He said because the two sides haven't agreed on a designated shipping lane, the voyage takes longer because boats have to sail around fishing lines.
The Kinmen official said that on Jan. 16 a boat carrying 100 Chinese passengers planned to sail to Kinmen to visit family and friends separated by the civil war in 1949.
The Taiwanese lifted the ban to legalize the already flourishing illicit trade between the islands and China.
If the policy is a success, Taiwan has said it may end a ban on direct transportation links between China and Taiwan's main island, separated by the 160km-wide Taiwan Strait.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
‘REALLY PROUD’: Nvidia would not be possible without Taiwan, Huang said, adding that TSMC would be increasing its capacity by 100 percent Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the country of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step. Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant, where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner,” named after the market capitalization of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business. “TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot
RSS