China has lifted restrictions on group and independent travel to Lienchiang County for Chinese-controlled Fujian Province residents, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of Shanghai resumed processing exit visa applications for those traveling to Matsu on Thursday, the source said.
Fujian residents and holders of Fujian residence permits can apply for a single-entry personal or group travel visa to Lienchiang, the source said, adding that the visa is valid for six months and is annotated for direct travel to Lienchiang only.
Photo courtesy of the Maritime and Port Bureau
Tour guides from travel agencies that are authorized to organize tours to Taiwan can apply for a multi-entry group travel visa to Lienchiang, with a validity of up to one year, the source said.
Fujian residents who obtain the correct documentation can enter and exit the Chinese border through Huangqi or Mawei ports in Fuzhou, the source said, adding that they would be able to take cross-strait ferry services under the “small three links.”
Regarding the length of their stay, the source said under Taiwan’s entry policies, Chinese visitors can stay for up to 15 days.
Eight Fujian tourists were to arrive in Matsu yesterday and stay for about five days, Lienchiang County Association of Travel Agents chairman Yang Yao-chih (楊曜誌) said.
The eight tourists were approved by the Chinese authorities to travel to Lienchiang under individual travel visas and no Chinese tour guide would accompany them, but they are to join a guided group during their visit, Yang said.
Chinese tourism to Taiwan had been largely frozen for more than three years. China halted independent travel to Taiwan on Aug. 1, 2019, citing the poor state of cross-strait relations. It then suspended group travel to other countries, including Taiwan, in early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In a written reply, the Mainland Affairs Council said that it was pleased to see the Chinese authorities announce the resumption of applications for Fujian residents to travel to Matsu for group and individual travelers.
“The government’s stance of welcoming Chinese tourists to visit Matsu, Kinmen or Taiwan remains unchanged,” the council added.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said