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
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