1

They introduced a new policy last year to allow residents of Xiamen, Beijing, and Shanghai to visit Taiwan independently as tourists. I don't know if that's been expanded to include Fuzhou as well; all other mainland Chinese tourists can only visit on group tours. Most other nationalities can visit Taiwan independantly, and many don't need visas.

I don't know anything about this High Speed Ferry; the old route (which I've personally taken) involved a 2-hour boat ride from Fuzhou to the Matsu islands, and then an overnight ferry to the main island of Taiwan. Total cost was something like 50-60 USD for transport.

2

I don;t know about the Fuzhou to Taiwan ferry, but I know it is now possible for Americans (and probably other western nationalities) to go from Xiamen to Jinmen by ferry, and from Jinmen fly/boat on to Taiwan proper

3

The Xiamen-Jinmen route (and vice versa) has been available to foreign nationals for a couple of years now. I did it myself last December. You just need to make sure your visas for China (if coming back in) are in order, also for Taiwan if you are a national of a country needing a visa. Great for turning a new entry/duration of stay on one's multiple entry Chinese visa.

Xiamen-Jinmen by ferry + cheap plane Jinmen-Taiwan proper is a time and cost-effective back door route versus Hong Kong.

Anybody who has the opportunity to take this new Fuzhou-Taiwan ferry, please report back on logistics and description of ferry conditions!