Premier expands scope of 'mini three links'

        Premier Su Tseng-chang announced April 25 that the routes of the "mini three links" program and the people allowed to use it would be expanded starting May 1. Su made the announcement in a news conference held at the Sungshan Domestic Airport in Taipei, after his plans to fly to Kinmen for an inspection tour of the "mini three links" were canceled due to inclement weather.

        Su said that beginning May 1, immediate family of Kinmen and Matsu residents would be allowed to travel individually to China along designated sea routes.

        A new route between Kinmen and Quanzhou in China's Fujian Province will also be launched in June to complement the current Kinmen-Xiamen and Matsu-Fuzhou routes, according to Su.

        The "mini three links" was an experiment launched Jan. 2, 2001, to legalize direct transport, commercial activity and postal exchange between Taiwan's outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu and the southern Chinese port cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou. All direct links across the Taiwan Strait were banned by Taipei five decades ago after the divisive Chinese Civil War. Thanks to detours through third countries--most notably Hong Kong--business between the two sides has nonetheless flourished over the past two decades, despite the lack of direct links.

        Previously, the "mini three links" program applied to people who have been registered as living in Kinmen or Matsu for at least six months, while their dependents and close relatives were only allowed to enter China when traveling with tour groups. Under the program, Taiwanese businesspeople with operations in China, veterans who were born in Fujian Province or are of Fujian ancestry, and Fujian residents married to ROC citizens were also allowed to cross over freely.

        Su explained that the policy to expand the "mini three links" was based upon a directive from President Chen Shui-bian. He stressed that China had initially refused to open up more ports other than Fuzhou and Xiamen to operate the services even though Taiwan had not restricted which Chinese ports were accessible via the "mini three links" since their launch in 2001.

        At the same press conference, Su announced the plan to invite China to hold a joint cross-strait rescue-at-sea exercise with Taiwan in September.

        Su explained that as the volume of passengers traveling via the "mini three links" increases, it is important to strengthen rescue capabilities and improve passenger safety. According to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), the number of passengers using the conduit has grown more than 20 times over the past five years.

        MOTC statistics show that in 2001, 25,000 passengers traveled via the "mini three links" between Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu and China's Xiamen and Mawei. That number more than doubled the following year to 58,000, reaching 555,000 in 2005.

        An MOTC spokesman said April 25 that the increases are due to the government's easing of restrictions, which has allowed more people to take advantage of the conduit between China and Taiwan.

        Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu claimed April 25 that a plan to allow Chinese tourists into Taiwan is expected to help facilitate mutual understanding between the people on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and such a development can help to improve cross-strait relations.

        Wu noted that enhanced mutual understanding would be an outcome far more beneficial to Taiwan than the estimated yearly economic benefit of up to US$600 million generated by Chinese tourists.

        The official also said the two sides need to sit down for talks immediately, to discuss the limited access for Chinese sightseers and to work out issues such as how to authenticate the identity of Chinese tourists and ensure they are treated well during their stay.

        In response to media reports that China plans to allow its citizens to make personal visits to Taiwan starting July 1, the MAC chairman said April 27 that Taiwan is ready to host Chinese tourists and can implement this policy at a moment's notice, provided, of course, official cross-strait negotiations on the issue have been completed.

        Wu added, however, that he is not sure whether China's plans to allow its citizens to travel to Taiwan in July can be realized because the promises Beijing has made on many occasions to hold talks with Taiwan on several issues have never been kept.

        Wu stressed that he welcomes the idea of letting citizens of China make sightseeing trips to Taiwan, since "China remains a tightly controlled and censored society." "The only way to allow the Chinese people to gain first-hand understanding of Taiwan is to have them visit Taiwan in person," he said.

        At present, Taipei dictates that the only Chinese citizens allowed to visit Taiwan for pleasure are those who have student visas from third countries, those who have permanent resident status in third countries, or those who travel to Taiwan only after visiting third countries.