The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) would not support Kinmen County’s application to hold an open water racing event with the Chinese city of Xiamen, MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said yesterday.
The Kinmen County Government must apply to participate in the 13th Kinmen-Xiamen Open Relay with the Sports Administration, which would rule on the matter after asking for the council’s recommendation, he told a routine news conference.
The MAC would recommend against permitting the swim meet because the China Coast Guard’s frequent incursions into Taiwan’s restricted waters pose a danger to the safety of the swimmers, he said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The Kinmen County Government is free to hold the 2025 Open Water Race — an event originally intended to connect to the Xiamen leg of the race — as it is supposed to take place in Taiwanese waters, he said
Chinese nationals are allowed to be part of Kinmen County’s open water race after applying with the MAC as they would for any sports event, Liang said.
The council has no plans to send any Taiwanese officials to make contact with their Chinese counterparts at the race, as the county government did not invite the MAC, he said.
Separately, Liang said Beijing has not responded to the MAC’s request to discuss China’s unilateral activation of air route W121 — the latest in a series of changes along the M503 corridor.
China informed the MAC of the air route’s opening a day before its public debut, he said, adding that Taiwan immediately expressed its disagreement with the decision.
Requests for Chinese officials to explain or negotiate the matter fell on deaf ears, he said.
The W121, W122 and W123 air routes — which extended the M503 route — have so far not caused any disruptions to the Taipei Flight Information Region, as Chinese aircraft using the routes are being closely monitored, he said.
The MAC sees no need to retaliate against the air route’s opening, as Taiwan already banned China group travel for domestic travel agencies last year in response to the cancelation of the M503 offset, he said.
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