The government made a “difficult” yet “humane” decision to restore limited access to the “small three links,” connecting Kinmen and Matsu counties with China, to registered residents of the counties after evaluating the outlying islands’ medical capacity, public health risks and opinions of local officials, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said yesterday.
Chiu was asked to brief members of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee on how the government rationalized its decision to temporarily resume direct ferry and flight services from Saturday next week to Feb. 6 for homebound travelers during the Lunar New Year holiday, after hundreds of people on Sunday demanded that Taiwanese studying or working in China who are residents of other counties be allowed to transit through the “small three links” to return to Taiwan as well.
“The decision was made after considering the limited healthcare capacities on Kinmen and Mastu. After arriving at the outlying islands through ferries, travelers must transfer from seaports to airports, and unpredictable lengths of stay could significantly increase the risks of COVID-19 spreading to residents from travelers returning from China,” Chiu said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Prior to the announcement of the policy on Thursday last week, the council had consulted newly elected Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai (陳福海) and Lienchiang County Commissioner Wang Chung-ming (王忠銘), along with legislators Jessica Chen (陳玉珍) and Chen Hsueh-sheng (陳雪生), representing Kinmen and Lienchiang counties respectively, Chiu said.
Leaders of Kinmen and Matsu Fellow-Townsmen associations in Taiwan also recommended that the links be reinstated in different phases, Chiu said, adding that people should respect the concerns of government officials and residents in the two counties.
“Certain politicians and media outlets intentionally distorted the purpose of the government’s policy for the ‘small three links,’ saying that it was an ill-conceived plan that was designed for political reasons,” Chiu said.
“In fact, the plan is the beginning of resuming normal operations in the near future,” he said, adding that a staged restart is the cautious approach to a transition to full access.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝), who also heads of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), told the committee that the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting COVID-19 case numbers that are about 100 times lower than what is considered realistic.
Kinmen and Matsu each only have one hospital, Victor Wang said, adding that both have adequate capacity to treat their residents.
However, the hospitals would not be able to treat additional patients if all Taiwanese are allowed to transit to China through the counties, he said.
As of yesterday, only five beds were left at the intensive care units in Kinmen Hospital, and not one was available on Matsu, he said, adding that some hospitalized COVID-19 patients must be airlifted to Taiwan proper for treatment.
“Whether Taiwanese live abroad in China, or in Kinmen or Matsu, we need to consider one another’s concerns, and think about whether transiting through the ‘small three links’ is really necessary, given that China’s COVID-19 cases are escalating,” Victor Wang said.
It would be extremely difficult for Taiwan to donate COVID-19 vaccines to China, given complicated issues surrounding the issue, although Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control has considered the option, he said.
“We would have to see if Beijing has granted emergency use authorization for the vaccines we are about to donate, and whether it would accept such an arrangement,” Victor Wang said.
Given that 30 to 60 percent of seats remain available on flights from the four Chinese cities that have direct flights to Taiwan over the Lunar New Year, Taiwanese in China should first consider using that option before considering one of the “three small links,” he said, citing Civil Aeronautics Administration data.
Additional reporting by Lee I-chia
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by