Taiwan’s Quemoy island begins importing water from mainland China amid rising cross-strait tensions
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council had asked the Quemoy county government to delay and downplay the ceremony because of moves by Beijing to suppress Taipei
Taiwan-controlled Quemoy island has started importing water from nearby Fujian province to ease its shortage, despite rising tensions across the strait.
Also known as Kinmen, officials from the island – which is just 2km from the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen and was a flashpoint during the cold war – signed an agreement with Fujian in 2015 to provide water for 30 years to resolve the problem.
A ceremony was held at the island’s Tianbu Reservoir on Sunday to mark the start of the new water supply, hosted by Quemoy county magistrate Chen Fu-hai and attended by more than 3,000 local officials and guests – although the government of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen wanted to downplay the event.
Meanwhile on the mainland, some 500 officials attended another ceremony at Longhu Lake in the city of Jinjiang, in Fujian. They included Liu Jieyi, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office under the mainland State Council, former Quemoy magistrate Lee Wo-shih and Fujian government officials, Taipei-based United Daily News reported.
The lake, which is the second largest in Fujian, will provide water for the project via a 28km undersea pipeline, delivering 34,000 cubic metres per day to tackle the shortage in Quemoy, according to official news agency Xinhua. The capacity is expected to be expanded to 55,000 cubic metres in the future.
Quemoy government officials said water from the Fujian pipeline would be enough for a 24-hour supply for residents.