Tainan Mayor William Lai has traveled aboard the inaugural voyage of a newly reopened sea route connecting Tainan’s Anping Port with Dongji Islet.
The islet is in an isolated area of the Penghu Islands, located to the west of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait. It is one of four islets that make up the land portion of Taiwan’s newest national park, the South Penghu Marine National Park. Though the islets are sparsely populated today, they were once an important landmark and stopover point for Chinese migrants making the crossing to Taiwan.
Lai was one of 140 passengers on the first crossing of the newly restored boat service to the islet on Saturday. He said that over 20,000 Tainan residents have lived on the islet or can trace their ancestry to someone who did.
Lai said the Tainan City Government would be pleased to work with the Penghu County Government to make the islet a platform for cooperation between local governments. Lai also said that the renewed connection between Tainan and Dongji Islet will not only help those with roots on the islet return but also give a boost to Penghu tourism.