Direct Links across Taiwan Straits to Benefit Both Sides

Direct transportation links across the Taiwan Straits will benefit both sides, in particular Taiwan, as its economy has continuously slumped in the past half year, according to shipping officials from the mainland and Taiwan.

A direct link will allow ship carriers from Taiwan to enjoy more favourable tax and transportation policies compared with foreign ships, and help cut the cost of transferring through harbours of the third parties, said Hu Hanxiang, president of the Beijing-based Association for Shipping Across the Taiwan Straits.

Hu made the remark when addressing the opening ceremony of the three-day fifth seminar on cross-Straits shipping transportation yesterday. More than 200 experts, businessmen and officials from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan participated in the seminar.

The event has experienced a four-year-long stand-off since it was last held in Taipei in 1997.

Official statistics from the association showed that 3 million people from the island visited the mainland last year, and the trade volume between the two sides reached US$30.5 billion.

From 1979 to 2000, the volume of cross-Straits trade reached more than US$190 billion, and Taiwan gained a total of US$128 billion of surplus, including last year's US$20.5 billion trade surplus.

Hu said only 20 per cent of cargo transportation was carried by 11 shipping companies on the mainland, and Taiwan and foreign companies captured the rest.

"With the upcoming World Trade Organization entry and the host position of 2008 Olympic Games, the mainland has great potential to become one of the biggest markets in the world, and Chinese shipping companies across the Taiwan Straits should join hands to seize the opportunity," Hu said.

Direct transportation would not only cut the transportation cost of transferring from the third party, which cost more than US$10 million last year, it would also greatly cut the operation time for ship carriers.

Under the principle of one-China policy, the mainland is willing to start direct transportation links with Taiwan, and, in turn, Taiwan's ships could enjoy all the privileges the domestic ships now have.

T.H. Chen, chairman of the Taiwan-based Taiwan Straits Shipping Association, said yesterday in the seminar that it is also Taiwan ship carriers' desire to open the direct transportation links as soon as possible.

As the representative of Taiwan's civil shipping industry, Chen said both sides will work on some concrete technical questions over the direct transportation at the three-day seminar, and pave the way for future direct links.

"If we resolve all technical problems before hand, we will immediately open direct shipping business when political questions get resolved," Chen said.

The refusal by Taiwan authorities to recognize the one-China principle is the major reason for the current cross-Straits stalemate, according to experts on cross-Straits relations.

As a businessman, and with many of his colleges in Taiwan, Chen said he supported any form of direct links, as long as it could benefit all Chinese people.

Chen hopes that the mainland will extend more ports - besides Xiamen and Fuzhou in East China's Fujian Province - for making trial direct transportation journeys in the near future.

Hu Hanxiang said the existing 111 ports open to foreign countries could all open to Taiwan, if its leaders agree the deal was conducted within the frame of the one-China principle.

Hu admitted that the seminar was only focusing on the technical questions involved in direct transportation, though many had hoped the conference could work out a more positive frame for the cross-Straits shipping industry.

"There exists many problems," Hu said, "but I believe there are more solutions than problems, as long as we keep up our discussions."

Chen agreed with Hu, stating that more contact will help both sides more fully understand each other.

Participants to the seminar hold various ideas but most agree the direct transportation link is a destine solution, which no one can resist.






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