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.
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