Preliminary planning of an electricity grid that will send mainland power to Jinmen and Matsu — islets near Taiwan that also lie off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian province — has been completed, according to a national lawmaker from Xiamen.
The province has also finished plans for a water pipeline to Matsu, said Chen Zixuan, a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress, during a panel discussion at the ongoing gathering of the top legislature in Beijing on March 6.
“The province has already finished preparatory work and will continue to promote the integrated development of Fujian and Taiwan” said Chen, who is deputy director of the Standing Committee of the Xiamen People’s Congress.
Xiamen, Jinmen and Matsu are separated by a narrow stretch of water and they have geographical, linguistic and cultural commonalities.
While addressing a gathering in Beijing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan in January, President Xi Jinping called for closer cross-Straits ties and proposed connecting Fujian to the islands of Jinmen and Matsu via water and gas pipelines, a power grid and a bridge.
“For a long time, residents of the two islets have been hoping the mainland would help ease their water and power shortages, and a bridge connecting Xiamen to Jinmen is also part of their long-standing wishes,” she said, adding that the projects are important to the livelihoods of people in the area.
In August, a 28-kilometer pipeline delivering 34,000 cubic meters of water per day from Fujian to Jinmen came online to alleviate water shortages on the islet.
Fujian is also taking the lead in offering favorable policies to improve the lives of Taiwan residents who study, work or run businesses on the mainland.
Chen said 176 Taiwan-funded companies in Fujian took part in a tax reduction policy for high-tech enterprises last year, with a total of 758 million yuan ($112 million) in deductions realized.
