The process for Chinese traveling to Taiwan via the “three mini links” to the nation’s two outlying counties is to be streamlined starting next year, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday.
Starting on Jan. 1, Chinese who hold a permit to travel to Taiwan from Fujian Province are to no longer be required to present a “G note” detailing the date and purpose of their travels upon arrival in Kinmen or Lienchiang counties, the agency said.
In addition, the review period for applications by Chinese citizens to visit via the three mini links for artistic, cultural or business purposes is to be reduced from five to three days, it said.
The three mini links refer to the commercial, transportation and postal exchanges between Kinmen, Matsu and China’s coastal cities.
Taiwan is also to expand the range of activities allowed for Chinese travelers who visit via the three mini links, the agency said.
The new measures are not just for greater travel convenience, but also aim to encourage more exchanges between people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and to stimulate local tourism, agency official Lin Tse-chien (林澤謙) said.
Chinese visitor arrivals have decreased since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May last year, mainly due to strained cross-strait relations.
Arrivals from China last year dropped by an annual 16 percent to 3.5 million, Tourism Bureau data showed.
This year, the number of Chinese visitors fell to 2.4 million in the period from January to October from 3.1 million during the same period last year, representing a decline of 27.45 percent, the data showed.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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