First direct Batanes-Taiwan flight slated next month

BASCO, Batanes – After the long wait, the first direct flight between this northernmost province and Taiwan’s southernmost island of Lan Yu (Orchid Island) is slated on April 21, when a 40-man Taiwanese delegation arrives here for a four-day visit.

An equal number of Ivatans (natives of Batanes) will visit Lan Yu Island on April 25-30.

It used to be that travel either from here or Taiwan had to pass through Manila due to immigration requirements.

This first-ever travel between the two neighboring islands, about 90 miles apart, is part of the cultural and economic exchange program recently forged by their respective officials.

To facilitate the exchange, Rep. Florencio Abad has requested the Bureau of Immigration to dispatch here a team to attend to the immigration requirements for the arrival and departure of the program’s participants.

Abad has also arranged with the Department of Foreign Affairs for the travel documentation of the Batanes delegation. A passporting team is arriving on March 27.

The exchange program, according to Juliet Abas, who is coordinating the visit, aims to expose the delegates to cultural preservation and enhancement, promotion of tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and the design and maintenance of landscapes that can be replicated in this province.

The Yamei tribal folk, who have inhabited Lan Yu Island for centuries, have a strong resemblance with the Ivatans. Both tribes speak almost identical dialects.

Walis Pelin, a member of Taiwan’s legislature, will head the delegation of the Republic of China. The Ivatan group, on the other hand, will be led by Abad and Gov. Vicente Gato.

A tour of the six Batanes municipalities has been lined up for the Taiwanese visitors.

Aside from the one-day tour of Lan Yu Island, the Batanes delegation will also go to the Taiwan mainland and will visit the National Museum of Pre-History, National Palace Museum and Kai Tak National Museum.

Highlighting the exchange program will be the signing of cultural and economic agreements in Lan Yu Island on April 26.