Despite the setbacks the "small three links" policy has met, the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (
Premier Chang Chung-hsiung (張俊雄), however, said that the proposal to allow gambling in Kinmen and Matsu had not been finalized.
"We will see how the `small three links' policy goes before any discussion of other proposals [for construction on Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu islands] are made," Chang said yesterday afternoon.
Chang added that the Cabinet would make a conclusion on the proposal in the near future once related government agencies resolved their disagreements about it.
No further discussion on the issue took place at yesterday's weekly Cabinet meeting.
The research commission's chairman, Lin Chia-cheng (
"Taiwan can use Hong Kong and Macau as examples, and turn Kinmen and Matsu into another `mini Hong Kong,'" Lin was quoted as saying yesterday morning.
Lin said that the "small three links" policy for Kinmen and Matsu was a top priority for the commission and would be regularly reviewed.
Lin went on to say that it was time for the Cabinet to start evaluating the feasibility of opening up gambling on Kinmen and Matsu, adding that the government should further explain its "small three links" policy to local residents on the island so that they could better benefit from its potential.
KMT legislator from Kinmen, Chen Ching-pao (
"Many Kinmen residents have strongly opposed such plans," Chen told the Taipei Times.
Chen added that "gambling would definitely have a negative impact on the former-battlefield districts."
Chen urged the DPP government to consult with residents of Kinmen and Matsu before drafting any measures to follow up implementation of the "small three links" policy.
Chen pointed out that as religious groups could soon be able to travel directly from Taiwan to China -- if approved by the Mainland Affairs Council -- Kinmen and Matsu could benefit from being stopover points for pilgrims.
He said that the government should create opportunities for religious adherents to stay overnight, which would boost their expenditures while staying on the islands and thus benefit the local economy.
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
‘SOMETHING SPECIAL’: Donald Trump vowed to reward his supporters, while President William Lai said he was confident the Taiwan-US partnership would continue Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the US early yesterday morning, an extraordinary comeback for a former president who was convicted of felony charges and survived two assassination attempts. With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. As of press time last night, The Associated Press had Trump on 277 electoral college votes to 224 for US Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee, with Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan and Nevada yet to finalize results. He had 71,289,216 votes nationwide, or 51 percent, while Harris had 66,360,324 (47.5 percent). “We’ve been through so
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