Taiwan’s government has begun preparing for the resumption of the so-called “Three Mini Links” between Taiwan’s outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu with some Chinese cities. The Three Mini Links policy allows for limited cross-strait connections in the areas of trade, transportation, and postal services with three cities in Fujian Province.These links have been suspended since February 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China.
Head of the Central Epidemic Command Center, Wang Pi-sheng (王必勝) went to Kinmen on Tuesday to inspect the county’s capacity in epidemic prevention and quarantine measures. The inspection comes as Taiwan continues to open to international travelers and China relaxes some of its zero-COVID restrictions.
Health Minister Xue Ruiyuan ( 薛瑞元) said in an interview this morning that the full resumption of the links still needs to be negotiated by both parties. Xue also addressed concerns that reopening the links may result in overbuying of medicines by Chinese visitors. Many Chinese pharmacies have been selling out of medicines due to panic buying and hoarding since lockdowns have been relaxed in China. Xue stated that runs on pharmacies is a concern and that the ministry is watching the situation closely.