2001年初金、馬祖兩外島與福建沿海的通航，開啟了兩岸對峙半世紀以來，和解的重要里程碑。「小三通」政策的推動主旨在於作為兩岸「三通」的準備，也可促進離島地區的建設與發展，並可藉由「小三通」增進兩岸人民良性互助。民進黨政府在執政之初確實有意藉「小三通」緩和兩岸關係，並且不排斥兩岸存在協商合作的空間。 正因為「小三通」是以兩岸「和平、發展、安全」作訴求，國內民意都給予正面的評價，可是實施以來「小三通」卻是叫好不叫座。主要原因在於兩岸關係受到九八年後情勢之演變，雙方溝通管道幾近堵塞，協商無門，致使「小三通」政策擬定之初就被壓縮到「除罪化」及「可操之在我」的部份。又受制於大陸當局的消極配合，與對應配套措施不足，使得地下經濟非但不能導入正軌，且有加速氾濫，擴大失序態勢，此為「小三通」政策效益不彰的主因。 「小三通」直航已進入第五年了，原本存在的通航相關問題依然沒有解決。臺灣方面在2003年底建立了「複委託機制」，「小三通」衍生之相關議題，可以作為其運作的試金石，雙方務實面對「小通」帶來的經濟效益的確能將金門正兩岸對抗的殺戮戰場，轉變為和平繁榮的樂土。

Effective from the beginning of 2001, the implementation of direct shipping between the offshore islands of Kinmen & Matsu can China’s Fujian Province marks a new phase of development for the cross-strait relationship. The “mini-three-links” policy aims to serve as part of the preparation for the future “direct three links” and to facilitate economic growth and development of the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu. It is also hoped that the implementation of this policy can make for more constructive exchanges between the two sides of the strait, through which the cross-strait relationship can improve, and, as the DPP Administration has wished, more possibilities for negotiation and cooperation can be opened up. With “Peace, Development, and Security” as its appealing goals, “mini-three-links” initially received favorable public opinion, but since its implementation, this policy has failed to meet most people’s expectations. The main reason is that due to the worsening of cross-strait relationship since 1998, channels for communication between the two sides have been literally blocked, leaving no room for negotiation. As a result, the policy’s effective scope of operation is limited to areas like “decriminalization”, and items that can be implemented unilaterally. China’s reluctance to actively respond, coupled with the policy’s inadequate design, has led to an underground economy rather than orderly transactions, breeding rampant illegal dealings. Though it has been four years since “mini-three-links” was first implemented, problems regarding direct shipping have yet to be resolved. The “mechanism of duplicated entrustment” that was established by Taiwan government in 2003, can be applied to those “mini-three-links” issues as a way to test the new mode of negotiation. If both sides of the strait can realistically approach the “mini-three-links,” instead of being a “killing battleground”, the offshore island Kinmen can turn into a place of peace and prosperity, a win-win condition for all concerned.