No place for politics in Straits flights: spokesman

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, September 16, 2003

No place for politics in Straits flights: spokesman

An official of the China Civil Aviation Association has urged Taiwanese authorities to allow mainland airlines to operate cargo services to Taiwan island, on an equal footing with Taiwanese airlines.

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An official of the China Civil Aviation Association has urged Taiwanese authorities to allow mainland airlines to operate cargo services to Taiwan island, on an equal footing with Taiwanese airlines.

Pu Zhaozhou, executive director of the China Civil Aviation Association, made the remark in response to the Taiwan authorities' proposal on Wednesday to start regular indirect cargo flights to and from the mainland later this month.

Pu said the flights should be direct. However, Taiwan authorities have insisted that chartered cargo flights land in Hong Kong or Macao before they reach the mainland.

Tsai Ing-wen, head of Taiwan's "Mainland Affairs Council,'' said indirect cargo flights between Taiwan and Shanghai could begin on September 25. Only Taiwanese airlines would be allowed to operate the flights.

The Taiwan authorities had unilaterally allowed Taiwanese cargo aircraft to operate mainland services via Hong Kong and Macao, which failed to resolve the difficulties of Taiwan business people, said Pu.

Pu said the mainland always holds the view that direct cross-Straits air links are an economic matter and should not be hampered by political factors. Whether they are regular flights ortemporary chartered flights, the issue should be treated as an internal affairs of one nation on the basis of mutual benefits.

He said the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China on the mainland has mapped out a plan for direct air links, and mainland airlines have been well prepared for the day. The China Civil Aviation Association welcomes civil aviation organizations in Taiwan to come and talk about direct air links any time.

The mainland side has been active in solving the difficulty of Taiwan investors on the mainland in cargo transport. However, the Taiwan authorities had set political preconditions on direct flights on the one hand, and expressed willingness to push cargo transport on the other, he said.

"It's reasonable for the Chinese airlines to take part in cargo flights across the Taiwan Strait in accordance with aviation practice and the common business principle of fairness," he said.

Airliners from both the mainland and Taiwan should participate in direct flights equally, and China called for two-way direct cargo flights across the Taiwan Strait to save time and expense, he said.

Detained Taiwan coast guard goes home

In another development, a Chinese mainland fishing crew captured a Taiwan coast-guard officer after a scuffle on their boat in which shots were fired. But the mainland Monday allowed the officer to return to Taiwan.

The crew brought Chiang Shao-nan back to the mainland after he and three other Taiwan coast-guard officers boarded their vessel for an inspection on Sunday near Matsu Island. Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said this in a statement Monday.

Taiwan coast-guard officers injured two fishermen and fired at the mainland boat, according to China News Service (CNS).

To defend themselves from further attacks, the fishermen on the Minchangyu No 4108 boat subdued Chiang and forced his colleagues to swim back to their boat.

Impounding Chiang's M-16 rifle, they took the officer to Meihua Port in Fujian Province, about 10 kilometres west of Matsu. The injured fishermen are being treated in a hospital there.

"The Taiwan Straits has been a fishing area for both Fujian and Taiwan fishermen from ancient times," an official with the Taiwan Affairs Office of Fujian Province was quoted by CNS as saying Monday.

"The Taiwan authorities should respect the reality and ensure the normal operation of the fishing industry for both Fujian and Taiwan."

He said the mainland does not want to see disputes arise in the fishing area.

Later Monday, Chiang returned to Matsu on a fishing boat which Taiwan lawmakers sent to pick him up from Meihua Port, according to television footage. He told a news conference later that he had been treated well by the mainland fishermen during his detention.

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