On December 20, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung declared that the opening of the little three links on January 1 was a major part of the government's mainland policy, and also the prelude to the full three links that will be implemented after WTO entry.
行政院長張俊雄於十二月二十日指出，二○○一年元月一日起正式實施的小三通是政府重要的大陸政策，也是台灣加入 WTO 後兩岸大三通的前奏曲。