Taipei: Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) announced on Thursday that it is conducting a “more cautious review” of the Kinmen-Xiamen Strait Crossing Swim scheduled for July 26, following reports that the annual event might be canceled for the first time. The swim is a long-distance relay contest held in the waters between Taiwan’s Kinmen and China’s Xiamen, alternating hosts since its inception in 2009.

According to Focus Taiwan, MAC Deputy Head and Spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh stated in a news briefing that the event is not purely a sporting activity. The 7-kilometer swim, involving over a hundred participants from China and Taiwan each year, has been utilized by Xiamen city and Fujian provincial authorities as “a united front effort targeting Kinmen.”

Liang noted that while the review is ongoing, there is no confirmation yet on whether the MAC will approve or cancel the swim. He was responding to a report from United Daily News, which suggested that Taiwan’s central government perceived the event as having “united front” implications and had requested its cancellation, potentially marking the first politically motivated cancellation.

Ou Yang Yi-hsiung, head of the Kinmen County Sports Club, mentioned rumors about the potential cancellation but stated there has been no official notice from authorities. He expressed that canceling the event, scheduled on the same day as recall votes for 24 opposition Kuomintang lawmakers, would be regrettable if true.

During the news conference, Liang revealed that Xiamen authorities had applied for entry for Chinese officials and TV reporters and planned to livestream the event with drone footage. These arrangements, along with proposals for swimmers and filming boats to enter from Xiamen to Kinmen, would breach Taiwan’s restricted waters.

At last year’s event, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia emphasized the event’s traditional significance under MAC’s supervision, describing it as reciprocal cross-strait exchange reflecting hopes for peace. The SEF is tasked by Taiwan’s government with technical matters in cross-strait relations.

Liang explained that while the 2024 event was hosted by Kinmen County, allowing swimmers to move from Kinmen to Xiamen without entering restricted waters, the current situation differs as Xiamen is this year’s host.