Opposition lawmakers succeeded late Thursday in pushing through an amendment allowing limited numbers of visitors from Taiwan to enter China directly via offshore islands.
Currently, only residents of the islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu are permitted to sail directly to two selected ports in China's Fujian Province.
In a last-ditch effort to pass legislation before the end of the current session, which ended yesterday, legislators enacted an amendment to the existing Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), allowing Taiwan residents to directly travel to China via the three outlying islands.
The amendment is to expand the "small three links (小三通)," which were coolly received by China since their opening last year.
The government initiated the policy allowing direct trade, postal and shipping transport between Kinmen and Matsu and Fuzhou and Xiamen ports in China's Fujian province on Jan. 2, 2001.
KMT legislator Tsao Er-chung (
Tsao said that expanding the "small three links" will not only make it more convenient for Taiwanese to travel to the China, it will also help accelerate economic prosperity for residents on the three islands.
Kinmen Magistrate Lee Chu-feng (
Lee said that the new policy will not only help save immeasurable amounts of money that would be spent on transit trips via a "third place," such as Hong Kong or Macau, it would also help increase the competitiveness of Taiwanese businesspeople operating across the Strait, as well as help boost the economies of the outlying islands.
In response to the amendment, Chen Ming-tung (
The MAC is reluctant to open direct travel via the offshore islands despite strong calls from local businesses and the tourism sector to cut costs and save time.
"Any relaxation has to be made in consideration of overall planning involving cross-strait relations, national security and transportation infrastructure on those islands," Chen said.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS