Govt aims at convenient, safe direct cargo links with China

Taipei, July 18, 2003 (CENS)--Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said her council has completed an impact evaluation concerning the direct transportation links across the Taiwan Strait with focus on convenient and safe cargo service.

She said the MAC should be able to make public the assessment report before the end of September when the Legislative Yuan opens a new session. She also expressed the hopes that the mainland Chinese authorities will reciprocate by returning to the negotiating table to facilitate the implementation of the long-awaited plans.

Tsai made the call in a speech delivered at a symposium on cross-Taiwan Strait business and trade relations in the post-SARS era sponsored by the Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research and chaired by former Premier Vincent Siew.

She said the opening of direct transportation links would substantially change cross-strait economic interchanges as well as transport networks. Direct links between Taiwan and the mainland would bring about tremendous impact on the flow of people, commodities, capital and information, as well as on people's lifestyles and national defense, Tsai noted.

However, the opening of direct cross-strait transportation links would bring both advantages and disadvantages to Taiwan's economy, Tsai said. She added that while transport costs would be lowered, efficiency of business operations would be improved and national incomes would be raised, the opening would also adversely affect Taiwan's economic structure, causing a rise in overall business operation costs and a foreseeable imbalance in the flow of capital and resources.

She also stressed that the opening of three direct links in trade, postal and transportation services would create problems involving national, political, and social security. Citing the recent massive outbreaks of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic as an example, Tsai said the mainland-originating disease caused tremendous losses for Taiwan's economy and society due to the lack of sufficient disease control.

For the security reason, Tsai urged Beijing authorities to bear in mind Taiwan's democratic system, government functions and the operations of the authorities while demonstrating goodwill and sincerity in resuming the long-stalled negotiations on the opening of direct links and intensify interchanges based on peace and security for both sides.

Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian stressed again that Taiwan cannot accept the "one China" principle as a precondition for direct cross-strait transport service as insisted by Beijing. In an interview with The Asian Wall Street Journal, President Chen said that he would rather not to have direct cross-strait transport service if the government has to accept the "one China" principle as a precondition.

Commenting on the Hong Kong crisis over the controversial anti-subversion rules in the national security law, the president said that Beijing's attempt to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong is a glaring breaking of its own promise to the Hong Kong people of autonomy for 50 years with no changes. He said this proves to Taiwan that Beijing simply cannot be trusted.