Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-Chi made his first visit to Kinmen with colleagues today (November 22, 2012) to attend the Mainland Affairs Symposium held by the Kinmen County Government, during which Minister Wang indicated that, beginning in June 2008, the government has successively promoted related programs to normalize the Mini Three Links. It has subsequently allowed Mainland tourists to apply for the fast and convenient entry method of visa on arrival for travel to Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu. The government has also taken related measures to further relax restrictions on cross-strait shipping, cargo, and personnel exchanges and transfers, effectively improving the situation in which only people, but not cargo, were allowed to pass through customs on offshore islands. In 2011, the government began allowing Mainland tourists to make one-day trips to Kinmen, and residents of Fujian in the Mainland were also allowed to travel to the Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu area via the Mini Three Links as individual tourists. Such related measures not only protect the well-being of Kinmen residents, but also bring substantive benefits for tourism and economic development in Kinmen.
Minister Wang emphasized that, after President Ma Ying-jeou inspected Kinmen’s port construction projects on November 11, 2012, the President instructed relevant authorities to accelerate various construction projects in Kinmen and to draw up long-term plans with regard to the easing of cross-strait relations and increasingly frequent contacts between people on the two sides. In the future, the MAC will continue to assist the Kinmen County Government and related competent authorities in jointly promoting Kinmen's developments and sustainable operations in areas involving cross-strait affairs.
Minister Wang also stated that Kinmen has long faced a water shortage issue. Under the established policy of developing multiple sources of water supply, the MAC will help relevant competent authorities to jointly research the possibility of bringing in water from the Mainland as an auxiliary source to supplement Kinmen's insufficient water supplies.
After the Symposium, Minister Wang, accompanied by Kinmen County Commissioner Lee Wo-Shi, visited Shuitou Pier to get a firsthand understanding of Mini Three Links operations and also paid a visit to Lieutenant General Wang Shih-Tu, Commander of the Kinmen Defense Command.