Taiwan has switched on a fourth undersea cable linking the main island to the outlying Matsu islands, a win for Matsu residents whose phone and internet links have been cut off by cable breaks in the past.

• The new Taiwan-Matsu No. 4 cable went live on September 18, with Premier Cho Jung-tai and Matsu-area KMT lawmaker Chen Hsueh-sheng attending the launch.
• Past cable cuts left Matsu residents without reliable communications, with elderly people reportedly bringing grandchildren to the Chunghwa Telecom office just to make calls.
• Chen credited Digital Minister Lin Yi-ching with lobbying him at least ten times over budget cuts and freezes, and said he clashed with his own KMT caucus to protect the funding.
• Chen said local infrastructure should not be a blue-versus-green fight, and pledged to back the Digital Ministry's budget next legislative session.
• The event was notable for cross-party warmth: Chen praised President Lai and Premier Cho as old colleagues and friends, and joked about the opposition-led legislature cutting the premier's salary.

Outlook: The cable strengthens Matsu's resilience against outages, and Chen's pledge suggests the Digital Ministry's next budget may face less opposition resistance than the last one.