TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kuomintang (KMT) vice-presidential candidate Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) said Thursday (Dec. 28) he would support the construction of a bridge between China and the Taiwan-held island of Kinmen — if a local referendum approved it.

Politicians on the frontline island have voiced support for the bridge linking Kinmen with the Chinese city of Xiamen in the hope it will attract more tourists. However, critics said the bridge would pose a risk to national security, as China’s military might use it to invade and occupy the island.

During a visit to Kinmen Thursday to campaign for a KMT legislator, Jaw said that if island residents passed the project in a referendum, he and KMT presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) would promote it if they won the Jan. 13 elections. He also underlined the contribution such a bridge might make to the development of local tourism, per CNA.

The proposal for a bridge also recently received the public support of presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). Opponents said that if there was a referendum, it should be national since the issue affected the whole country’s security.