Taiwan is expected to be unblocked on the 13th, but the "Miscellaneous Three" will still not know when it will resume flights. However, Yang Zhenzhen, the mayor of Kinmen County, expressed that the relevant homework was prepared and hoped that the earlier the better;

Author Liu Jincai Associate Professor of the Department of Public Affairs of Foguang University

Taiwan is expected to be unblocked on the 13th, but the "Miscellaneous Three" will not know when it will resume flights. When asked, Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan, Qiu Taisan admitted that it was a good time to celebrate the New Year; however, Kinmen County Mayor Yang Zhenjun expressed that the relevant homework had been prepared, hoping that the sooner the better; Kinmen "legislator" Chen Yuzhen believed that it should be unblocked and opened simultaneously on the 13th. This shows that the public opinion of Jinma is completely different from the policy propositions of the DPP authorities and is completely different, and the DPP authorities have more public opinion requirements for the resumption of flights of "small three links".

From February 10, 2020, the Jinma Small Three Passenger Passenger Transportation, which has been suspended due to epidemic prevention needs on the island. This restriction was initially caused by the public panic of Kinmen and Mazu. The Mainland Affairs Council also inquired about the opinion leaders of Kinmen and Mazu, such as the "legislator" of Kinmen and Mazu, and its chief and speaker. It was not the Mainland Affairs Council's unilateral decision to suspend the "Mis Three Passenger Transportation", but the result of communication and negotiation with Kinmen and Mazu. However, when the epidemic eases, the people of Kinmen and Mazu hope to restart the "Miscellaneous Three Links". Over the past two years and eight months, the Mainland Affairs Council has been constantly asked whether the suspended cross-strait "small three links" may be gradually opened, or under what conditions may be considered restarted, so that the "small three links" will once again become the focus of attention.

Review the implementation process of "Xiaosantong". On May 17, 2003, due to the SARS incident, "Xiaosantong" was suspended for a while until July 18. After the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in 2019, the passenger ship service of the "Miao Santong" has been reduced to 10 flights per day, and the daily passenger flow has dropped to more than 400 people. On February 7, 2020, the Mainland Affairs Council announced that it would suspend the "Mini Three Connections" passenger ship service from February 10 after the Taiwan Epidemic Command Center discussed it, which is the second time since the SARS epidemic in 2003. On March 17, 2021, Chen Shizhong, head of the Taiwan health and welfare department, emphasized that the recovery of the minor three will be considered after the Taiwan people receive vaccination reaching 60% coverage. Of course, when the vaccine coverage rate has exceeded 60%, the people of Jinma have been calling on the DPP authorities to restart, but have not announced the resumption of the "Miscellaneous Three Connections".

is worth noting that, as Kinmen "legislator" Chen Yuzhen proposed, public opinion considers that when the mainland becomes a low-risk area or is widely vaccinated, it should be considered restarted; otherwise, people from the islands are worried that due to political factors, they will never be open again. The "Miscellaneous Three" has been suspended for two years and eight months, and has not been restarted, deepening doubts from the people of Taiwan, Kinmen and Matsu. "Miscellaneous Three Links" are the governance issues of Kinmen and Mazu, but the decision-making power is in the Mainland Affairs Council. Although Kinmen and Mazu are required to be suspended, Kinmen and Mazu can also be reopened after evaluation. On May 4, 2021, Kinmen County Mayor Yang Zhenzhen called on the DPP authorities to restore the "small three links" as the conditions to respond to the goodwill of the mainland.

First, the suspension of the "Miscellaneous Three Connections" affects the economic development of Kinmen and Mazu. With the surge in the new crown epidemic, the "Miaosantong" had a very severe flow of people. Before the epidemic, the "Miaosantong" had a 44-passenger ship back and forth in Jinxia in one day, with about 5 or 6,000 people traveling back and forth; Taiwan and Kinmen had about 80 round trips, with about 8,000 people traveling every day, about half of which were traveling back and forth between Kinmen and mainland China. When the epidemic began and the "Miscellaneous Three Connections" were closed, the flights also dropped sharply, with about 1 or 2,000 people remaining, seriously affecting sightseeing and tourism in the offshore islands of Jinma and returning people to their hometowns to visit relatives, and hindering normal economic, social and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Generally estimated that about 40% of passengers in the "Mini Santong" are about mainland tourists, of which 70% are free travelers and 3 become group tourists. The suspension of "Mini Santong" has a great impact on the local tourism industry in Kinmen. Although the public has given priority to epidemic prevention and safety, they also hope to gradually restart the "Mini Santong" under control and good control. People who are not engaged in tourism, have not done business, or do not travel to the other side have adopted a conservative attitude towards restarting the "Miscellaneous Three Connections", hoping to remain closed until the epidemic slows down.

Secondly, the mainland has shown goodwill to Taiwan. Fujian Province announced that from May 10, 2021, the convenience measures of "2-day centralized medical observation + 19-day closed-loop management" will be implemented for Taiwanese compatriots who have business and exchange activities and go to Fujian via Xiamen Airport . Residents of Kinmen and Mazu who have lived in the local area for 28 days will be exempted from entry quarantine with quarantine certificates.In March 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Fujian and proposed the policy to Taiwan to "promote integration through communication". Fujian, as the forefront of Taiwan policy, can "try first". The Kinmen County Government has long completed the epidemic prevention measures plan for the "Mini Three Connections" and proposed a plan to the DPP authorities. It is technically feasible to control quotas and ensure quarantine energy and restore the "Mini Three Connections" with conditions. Fujian Province still announced that it would open the Jinma residents to log in without isolation when the "Mini Three Connections" is interrupted. If there is no "Mini Three Connections" supporting effect will be greatly reduced.

Again, the discussion on suspending the minor three-way communication in the early stage of the outbreak was mainly due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control. In May 2021, Kinmen and Mazu advocated the resumption of the "Miscellaneous Three Connections", which attracted debate on whether the initiative policy has a basis for polls. Due to the outbreak of the epidemic in mainland China at this time, a considerable proportion of people believe that the recovery of "small three links" will be suspended. For example, the B&B and operators benefit from tourism from Taiwan, and their housing rate is quite high. The operators are worried that once the "small three links" are opened, the proportion of people suffering from COVID-19 may increase from the outlying islands, which will hinder tourists.

Furthermore, the people of Kinmen call for the restart of the "Miscellaneous Three Connections", restore the local economy and establish a cross-strait peaceful development zone. When Kinmen County Mayor Yang Zhenzhen, when he met with the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council in September 2022, he strongly demanded that the "Miss Three Connections" must be opened simultaneously with the Taiwan border. Follow the epidemic prevention guidelines, the Miss Three Connections will resume flights normally. It is also planned to resume flights during traditional festivals. The Miss Three Connections will be piloted by way of mutual access without entry. It will be piloted first, and humanitarian, medical and schooling projects and cross-strait flight meetings will be launched. As the border in Taiwan is gradually opened and fully resumed, it will effectively solve the basic needs of Kinmen villagers, and the more tense cross-strait relations will melt ice, assist Kinmen after the epidemic and create a better scenic spot for sightseeing. The Kinmen and Mazu local governments call on the DPP to rule the central government and not to take different treatments against the minor three-way policy, but should adopt a more positive and positive attitude. As regional borders are lifted and opened simultaneously, the flight will gradually resume normal. The resumption of the "Mini Three Links" will help alleviate the tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Resuming the "Mini Three Links" can allow Kinmen to play the role of an olive branch for cross-strait interaction and build a bridge of peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Fifth, the "Miscellaneous Three Links" policy initiative has gradually gained support from the people of Jinma.

According to a recent survey and research on the small three links of Kinmen University, it shows that the "small three links" have been implemented for 20 years. It is generally believed that the small three links improve the social and economic development of the offshore island of Jinma, and comprehensive evaluation of the small three links is helpful. About 75% agree with the opening of the minor three links immediately after the epidemic, but about 25% still objected; the general public of Jinma held a positive affirmation of the mainland's emphasis on integrated development and equal treatment of the people in Taiwan. People in the Jinma area highly recognize the role of the "small three links" in promoting the development of off-island economic and social institutions, and also supports the recovery of the "small three links" as soon as possible.

However, looking back at the development history of the "Miscellaneous Three Links", it can be said that it has gone from being questioned to being highly affirmed, which also shows that the mainland's policy toward Taiwan has gradually been recognized and supported by the Taiwanese people. The two sides of the Taiwan Strait should negotiate to establish a safe zone that is easier to verify, so that the people on both sides can visit and trade through small three-way connections. In the early stage of implementation, we will implement trials of limited shifts and limited quantities, gradually explore more effective models, and then continue to expand opening up. This "gradual" recovery of the triathlons creates a win-win situation. For the people of Jinma, they originally benefited from the tourism and trade of Xiaosantong, and promoted the development of offshore economy and tourism through the convenient return journey of Taiwanese businessmen and Taiwanese compatriots and mainland tourists. At the same time, it also has the role of easing cross-strait relations and facilitating cross-strait exchanges and cooperation and deepening cross-strait integration.

Overall, the "Mini Santong" can indeed drive the booming development of shipping, hotels, sightseeing, restaurants and commodity consumption industries in Kinmen, Mazu and Penghu, and increase the booming employment market. Regarding the normal resumption of flights of "Miscellaneous Three-way" and the timing of the flights can be chosen to resume flights during traditional festivals, similar to the previous Spring Festival charter flights, the method of piloting the mutual non-entry trips will be carried out first, and humanitarian, medical and schooling projects and cross-strait flights will be launched, and the flights will be gradually opened and fully resumed to effectively solve the needs of the people of Kinmen and Mazu.

"Mini Three Connections" involves very diverse topics, covering: shipping, passenger and cargo ships, fishing boats, commodity trade, personnel exchanges, financial exchanges, postal exchanges, industrial and commercial development, agricultural and fishery development, and all specific related businesses such as entry and exit management, customs, epidemic prevention, quarantine, animal and plant prevention and quarantine, commodity inspection and other specific related businesses. Restarting the "Miscellaneous Three Connections" means that cross-strait integration and development will gradually become normalized by peaceful development. On the one hand, it can solve the people's livelihood, economy and daily life needs of Kinmen and Mazu; on the other hand, it can effectively alleviate cross-strait tensions and hostility, and reduce the risks of war between the two sides. The DPP authorities should respond in good faith.