China News Service, Fuzhou, January 7th (Reporter Yan Xu Li Siyuan) "We can finally go home." Lu Lili from Kinmen wrote in WeChat Moments on the 7th, her joy was beyond words.
On January 7, Taiwan compatriots went through customs clearance and boarding procedures at Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal.
Photo by Zhong Xin issued by China News Agency
As the Spring Festival approaches, in order to meet the needs of people in Kinmen and Matsu to return home during the Lunar New Year, from January 7th to February 6th, the cross-strait "miniature three links" sea passenger transport routes that have been suspended for nearly three years have been partially resumed.
As the "Jin Ruilong" passenger ship set sail from Shuitou Port, Kinmen at 10 am on the 7th, and arrived at Wutong Wharf in Xiamen at around 10:30 am, the Xiamen-Kinmen passenger route was the first to resume navigation.
It is reported that the Xiamen-Jinjiang route is operated by passenger ships on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in turn. There is a round-trip flight every day. It departs from Jinmen or Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal at 10:00 am, and returns at 12:00 noon after arriving on the other side. The passenger capacity of each passenger ship is about for 300 people.
Taiwanese citizens with household registration in the Kinmen area and their spouses and children can register in advance to make an appointment to take a boat.
Lu Lili has worked and lived in Xiamen for many years. Before the epidemic, she often took the "small three links" passenger ship to and from Kinmen and Xiamen.
"We arrived in 20 or 30 minutes before. We can take the 8:00 am boat to Xiamen, and take the 6:30 pm boat back to Kinmen." She said frankly that because the child lives in Kinmen and needs to go back to take care of her, the "mini-three links" passenger service has been suspended. In the past three years, it has caused a lot of trouble to her.
"I can smell sorghum wine, and it's right on the shore of Xiamen. How many times I took out my mobile phone, I was connected to the signal in Kinmen. It took three years to walk two kilometers, and how many turns did the nearest road take..." Lu Lily also wrote a song "Two Kilometers for Three Years" to express her homesickness, which aroused echoes among the folks in Kinmen.
Lin Bihua, a 72-year-old native of Kinmen, wearing a red scarf and holding a doll in his arms, took a boat from Xiamen Wutong Wharf to Kinmen at 12:00 noon.
Lin Bihua said that what she is holding is a cultural and creative product designed by herself. She has been engaged in the cultural and creative industry in Xiamen and has not been home for three years. She plans to give this cultural and creative product as a gift to her long-lost family in Kinmen.
"We have been waiting for three years to finally be able to go back to reunite with everyone, especially during this Chinese New Year, to have such a good opportunity, I am really grateful to everyone." Lin Bihua said, hoping that the "mini-three links" can be normalized and can Let Taiwanese businessmen and officials in Fujian enjoy convenience.
Lin Guotai, a native of Kinmen, also took his son back to Kinmen from Xiamen for the Spring Festival on the first day of the resumption of sailing.
"Our father and son have not been home for three years, and today we can finally take the 'miniature three links' to go home for the New Year. It would cost about 5,000 yuan to go back to Kinmen via Taipei by plane, but now it only costs 130 yuan to go back through the 'miniature three links' " Lin Guotai said with emotion that the "mini-three links" are convenient and cheap.
On January 7, the inaugural flight of the Xiamen-Jinjin Passenger Line resumed operation from Xiamen Wutong Passenger Terminal to Kinmen.
Photo by Zhong Xin issued by China News Agency
It is reported that the passenger air route from Fuzhou to Matsu area will also be resumed on the 8th, with two round-trip flights per week at the beginning.
Since the opening of the Xiamen-Jinjiang route and the two-horse (Fuzhou Mawei-Matsu) route on January 2, 2001, the "mini-three links" have witnessed the continuous and close exchanges between the two sides of the strait. As of February 9, 2020, a total of more than 22 million passengers have been carried .
In order to welcome the resumption of the "miniature three links" passenger route, Fujian's border inspection, customs, maritime and other relevant departments have made full preparations in advance, conducted a comprehensive safety inspection of related facilities, passenger ships, etc., and evaluated the safety of the route. Optimize customs clearance and inspection measures, etc., to provide convenience and travel safety guarantee for passengers.
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