Since the trial implementation of the Mini-Three-Links in Kinmen and Matsu
on January 1, 2001, the government has in the past six years adjusted relevant
policies after step-by-step reviews based on the principle of promoting related
matters in a sequential and orderly manner. As such, the scale of the
Mini-Three-Links has expanded day by day, which has not only provided
convenience to the lives of the people in Kinmen and Matsu, but has also
provided convenient channels to the Taiwanese people traveling to and from the
Mainland Area. As of November 2006, the total number of people traveling across
the Strait via the Mini-Three-Links route has reached 1.8412 million (both
gross exit and gross entry); the volume of imported and exported goods via this
route has reached more than NT$1.416 billion; and the number of sailings via
this route has reached 13,400. Exchanges at all levels have become more
frequent.
However, in the six years of implementation of the Mini-Three-Links, since
both sides of the Strait still could not engage in effective negotiations, they
have failed to make breakthroughs to remove certain bottlenecks, thus causing
some problems to remain unresolved. For examples, the number of Taiwanese people
traveling to China has exceeded that of the Chinese people visiting Taiwan; the
import and export of goods has not yet been normalized, with the amount of
Chinese goods exported to Taiwan exceeding that of Taiwans exports to China.
Under such circumstances, the Mini-Three-Links have produced smaller economic
benefits for the areas of Kinmen and Matsu than expected. Moreover, since the
implementation of the Mini-Three-Links, although the long-existing illegal
violations have been kept under control, they have not yet been entirely
eliminated, and this has also affected the quality of the Mini-Three-Links.
After accumulating experience in our implementation of the
Mini-Three-Links, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) conducted a comprehensive
assessment of the related policies and execution. We have obtained the following
initial conclusions, namely, in the wake of the strengthening of the concept and
the mechanism on proactive management and effective liberalization in the past
two years, greater improvement has been made in the security management aspect
of the Mini-Three-Links; however, due to the fact that both sides of the
Strait could not yet conduct effective negotiations, the space for the expansion
and relaxation of the Mini-Three-Links policy is still very limited.
Fortunately, there is room for improvement in the execution of the
Mini-Three-Links. After a thorough assessment, we will enhance the positive
benefits of the Mini-Three-Links in Kinmen and Matsu by making adjustments
according to the following measures:
I. Measures to improve personnel exchanges
A. Humanitarian considerations
1. We will normalize the demand for cross-strait personnel exchanges via the
Mini-Three-Links route due to humanitarian considerations of the need to
engage in emergency relief operations and related activities.
2. We will relax the scope of passengers allowed to travel across the Taiwan
Strait via the Mini-Three-Links to include veterans from areas other than
Fujian Province.
B. Providing convenience for commercial exchanges and professional
exchanges
1. Officers and staff members of Taiwan-based parent companies that have
invested in establishing enterprises in the Fujian Area may travel to Fujian to
attend exhibitions, conferences, and other related commercial activities to be
held there via the Mini-Three-Links route.
2. Commercial delegations attending and participating in exhibitions and
other commercial exchange activities to be held in Fujian Province and having
been granted special permission may travel across the Strait via the
Mini-Three-Links route.
3. Delegations attending academic conferences or other activities to be held
in Fujian Province and having been granted special permission may travel across
the Strait via the Mini-Three-Links route.
4. Reasonable adjustments will be made to the review regulations governing
charter flights and charter ships.
C. Improvement of management regulations governing the visit of Chinese
tourists to Kinmen and Matsu for sightseeing to promote balanced exchanges of
personnel in both directions
1. In response to Chinas intention to allow Chinese residents living around
the Fujian Area to visit Kinmen and Matsu, the MAC will consult with the Kinmen
and Matsu county governments to make appropriate adjustments to the management
regulations governing the visit of Chinese tourists to Kinmen and Matsu.
2. The following technical adjustments are being underway:
a. The proposed amendment to Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Regulations
Governing the Trial Operation of Transportation Links Between Kinmen/Matsu and
the Mainland Area will adjust the number of tourists per Chinese delegation
intending to visit Kinmen and Matsu to over five persons and under 40 persons.
(The current stipulation requires the number to be between 10 and 25 persons;
this amendment will soon take effect once promulgated by the Executive Yuan.)
b. Measures will be taken to provide convenience in the management of the
entry and exit of guides of Chinese tour delegations.
II. Measures to improve the import and export of goods
A. Facilitating the export of goods to China, and achieving the balanced
between import and export
In order to minimize administrative and operational costs and to provide
convenience to businesses, we will consider allowing China-bound Taiwanese goods
below a certain amount of money, when transhipped via the Mini-Three-Links
route, to be exempted from presenting the certificate issued by the Taiwanese
Businessmen's Association during customs clearance.
B. Facilitating the normalized importation of daily necessities
In coordination with the county governments of Kinmen and Matsu, we will
accelerate the implementation of the project for the importation of small-volume
fish and agricultural products from the Mainland Area.
III. Measures for middle- and long-term improvement
A. Rendering assistance in the planning and establishment of a goods
trading center in Kinmen and Matsu
B. Reinforcing communication mechanisms on the Mini-Three-Links between
the central and local governments
As for the Mini-Three-Links implemented in Penghu, the current policy and
regulations allow for the trial implementation of transportation links between
Penghu and the Mainland Area on a special case-by-case basis. To date, the
government has already approved four applications (in July 2002, a special
permit was granted to allow the religious people in Penghu to hold religious
pilgrimage trip to China via the maritime transportation route between Makung
and Quanzhou; in September 2005, the Penghu Association of Small- and
Medium-Sized Enterprises made a special application for engaging in commercial
exchanges with China via the maritime route between Penghu and China; In June
2006, the Penghu County Industrial Development and Investment Promotion
Committee held the First Penghu International Cosmetics, Home Appliances, and
Gifts Exhibition and Cross-strait Outstanding Home Appliances and Gifts
Exhibition; In October 2006, the Penghu County Cultural Foundation invited a
cultural delegation from Quanzhou to attend Cross-strait Cultural Exchange Week
activities in Penghu. The special application filed by the Penghu Association of
Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises for commercial links between Penghu and
China was not carried out for some reasons). It is observed that the
applications filed by Penghus local groups during the trial implementation of
the Mini-Three-Links are fewer not because of strict review mechanisms carried
out by the responsible authorities but because of lesser demand from the locals.
Due to considerations that Penghu is proximate to the main island of Taiwan and
that Penghu is situated in a very important strategic position, from the
perspective of current cross-strait relations, there are still no objective
conditions favoring the implementation of regularized Mini-Three-Links in
Penghu. However, considering the views of the Penghu residents, the government
has after a comprehensive review and evaluation decided that, under the
precondition that the policy to implement the Mini-Three-Links in Penghu on a
trial and special base-by-case basis will remain unchanged, we will study and
consider enabling Penghu residents to travel to the Mainland Area via Kinmen and
Matsu based on the existing foundation of the Mini-Three-Links implemented in
Kinmen and Matsu, as well as amplify the incentives for the trial implementation
of the Mini-Three-Links scheme. We will also amend the relevant regulations
according to the actual needs for the smooth implementation of the importation
of sand and gravel into Penghu from the Mainland Area on a special case-by-case
basis.
With regard to the related adjustments to the Mini-Three-Links scheme
implemented in Kinmen and Matsu and the special Mini-Three-Links scheme
implemented in Penghu, the MAC will invite the relevant agencies for further
discussion of the details. We will carry out the adjustments once we have
completed the various administrative procedures. At the same time, we will
continue to reinforce the security management measures for the
Mini-Three-Links to enable it to produce greater positive effects.