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A record high 1.71 million passenger trips by sea were taken between Fujian and Taiwan in 2014, growing by 12 percent from the previous year, according to Fujian’s marine traffic authorities.
About 1.56 million passengers, up by 11 percent, chose the "Mini Three Links" routes based on a pact signed between Fujian and the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen and Matsu counties and Penghu Island that allows small-scale transportation of personnel and cargo.
“Mini Three Links” has become the major means of sea transportation between Fujian and Taiwan. There are 36 round trips on the Xiamen-Kinmen route, 8 on the Quanzhou-Kinmen route and 2 on the Mawei-Matsu route every day. The Huangqi-Matsu route is expected to be launched in the first half of 2015.
Since its opening in 2011, the “Mini Three Links” has handled 12.5 million passenger trips, among which 11.3 million were made on the Xiamen-Kinmen route.
In 2014, some 150,000 people took roll-on/roll off ferries to commute between Fujian and Taiwan.
The Haixia, which operates on the Pingtan-Taipei and Pingtan-Taichung routes, had 326 trips, transferring 870,000 people. The Natchan Rera operating on the Pingtan-Taipei route made 128 trips with 340,000 people. And the Cosco Star, which commutes between Xiamen, Taichuang and Keelung, delivered about 290,000 passengers on 189 voyages.
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