Regulations on travel from Taiwan to China via Kinmen and Matsu will be relaxed as early as this week to facilitate the development of the outlying islands, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) said yesterday.
Direct cross-strait travel is still restricted to a ferry service between the offshore islands and China's Fujian Province, also known as the "small three links," which was implemented in January 2001.
Travel agencies in Kinmen and Matsu will be allowed to advertise the route from China to Taiwan via the "small three links" to Chinese and to allot the same number of Taiwanese to travel to China via the route, Chen said.
The expansion plan of the "small three links" service will be implemented on the condition that people traveling between the two countries spend at least one night in Kinmen or Matsu to boost the local economy, he said.
Initially, the service was available only for residents of Kinmen or Matsu wishing to visit China, while Chinese citizens could enter the offshore islands to conduct business or visit as tourists.
With gradual expansion of the scheme over the years, people with addresses registered in Kinmen and Matsu for at least six months, businesspeople with operations in China and their employees and family members, veterans originally from China and Fujian Province residents married to Taiwanese are now allowed to travel to China via the route.
The island county of Penghu was also included in the "small three links" arrangement last year.
Applications filed by residents of Taiwan proper to travel to China via the offshore islands will be reviewed by the government on a case-by-case basis.
"Many people from Penghu and Taiwan proper didn't stay overnight in Kinmen or Matsu when using the `small three links' route, contributing little to the local economy," Chen said.
The Mainland Affairs Council will present a proposal regarding the expansion this week and expects to get a green light from the Cabinet before March 22 presidential election at the latest, he said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
POLICY UNCHANGED? Despite Trump’s remarks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that US policy toward Taiwan has remained consistent since the 1970s US President Donald Trump on Wednesday again refused to make clear his stance on protecting Taiwan from a hypothetical takeover by China during his presidency. Asked by a reporter during a Cabinet meeting whether it was his policy that China would never take Taiwan by force while he is president, Trump declined to give a definitive answer. “I never comment on that,” he said. “I don’t comment on it because I don’t want to ever put myself in that position.” Trump also reiterated that he has a “great relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and said that Washington welcomes good relations with
RSS