According to Japan's "Sankei Shimbun" on January 31, in Kinmen, the call for supporting the opening of the "Xiamen-Jinmen Bridge" connecting Xiamen and Kinmen is getting louder and louder. Due to the deterioration of Taiwan's economy due to restrictions on mainland tourists after the outbreak of the epidemic, many Kinmen residents hope that the bridge will bring economic benefits. Although the Taiwan authorities oppose the opening of the country, they may not be able to continue to ignore public opinion in the future.
The Sankei Shimbun reporter went to Kinmen on January 17 and 18 and found that there were almost no tourists on the island, and there were many souvenir shops. Kinmen is about 200 kilometers from the island of Taiwan, but it is very close to the mainland. It was once the front line of the Taiwan Strait crisis, and locals have been trying to attract tourists from the other side by turning the old battlefield into a tourist attraction.
Since the launch of individual tours to Taiwan in 2011, mainland tourists have flocked to Kinmen, with about 800,000 tourists from the mainland in 2019. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, the Taiwan authorities began to restrict the entry of mainland tourists. Some restrictions remain in place, and Kinmen's economy continues to be sluggish. A worker working at a local sorghum distillery said: "If this continues, the economy will go bankrupt, and it is wrong to refuse cross-strait exchanges." He stressed that there was no need to cut off exchanges that had lasted for years.
Many people hope that the Xiamen-Jin Bridge will be a catalyst for the revitalization of Kinmen's economy. In the 90s of the last century, the topic of building the Xiajin Bridge was once raised, but there is no sign of landing.
The mainland side hopes to take the construction of the bridge as an opportunity to realize the "new four links" with Kinmen in terms of water, gas, electricity, and bridges on the basis of the water supply channels that have already been opened, so as to turn the former battlefield into a symbol of peaceful reunification.
Chen Yuzhen, a Kuomintang representative of Kinmen, expressed his support for the opening of the Xiamen-Jin Bridge, believing that such a move would be beneficial to regional economic development. It is said that after restricting mainland tourists, the economic losses of Kinmen's tourism industry amounted to billions of New Taiwan dollars (1 New Taiwan dollar is about 0.).23 RMB). Chen Yuzhen also stressed that the construction of the bridge will not affect the security situation. * threatens that the bridge will bring disaster, but as Kinmen's ties with Xiamen deepen, it will only strengthen the determination of the people of Kinmen to pursue peace. "The People's Party and non-party candidates in the Kinmen constituency also support the opening of the Xiamen-Jin Bridge. Although *** opposed the opening for various reasons, there were no local members of the party running. As a result, a situation has been created in which the "pro-opening faction" has a majority. (* Refer to the news network compiled by Liu Lin).