First weekend flights herald closer ties between Chinese, Taiwanese By Jonathan Adams
The New York Times, July 4, 2008
TAIPEI — The first nonstop, cross-strait weekend flights from China landed in Taiwan on Friday morning, in the latest breakthrough in cross-strait relations that are rapidly warming under the island’s new president, Ma Ying-jeou.
The first batch of flights was expected to carry 662 Chinese tourists on package tours from five cities on the mainland, but that number is expected to expand gradually to as many as 3,000 tourists per day.
This is the first time that “ordinary” Chinese citizens will be allowed to visit Taiwan as tourists. Before, only Chinese citizens who were permanent residents of a foreign country, or those with special permission for business or cultural exchanges, could visit the island.
China sees self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and has long threatened to use force to back up its claim. Analysts said the flights and the increase in tourism were part of a significant easing of tensions.
“It marks a big step for closer interactions between the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said Alexander Huang, an expert in cross-strait security at Tamkang University in Taiwan. “This will be the first time for ordinary Chinese people to see Taiwan for themselves. I think that over time, Taiwanese will feel more comfortable with their cousins on the other side.”
The two-way, weekend charter flights will also fly nonstop. Previously, most people traveling across the strait had to land in a third location, such as Hong Kong, before going to Taiwan, adding hours of travel time.
The two sides agreed to the weekend charter flights and more tourism in talks in Beijing in June. That meeting resumed formal talks that Beijing cut off in 1999.
Political analysts said that Mr. Ma’s March election victory made the flights and the tourist deal possible. His predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, angered Beijing by trumpeting Taiwan’s distinct identity and seeking to cement its de facto independence. But Mr. Ma ran on a platform that included expanding economic ties and improving relations with the mainland.
His government is rapidly moving to make good on those promises. Earlier this week, Taiwan allowed currency exchange on the island between Chinese yuan and the New Taiwan dollar to ease travel. It expanded Taiwan-China travel by ferry via the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu to all Taiwanese citizens. And on Thursday, Taiwan’s government said it would allow mutual funds to invest a higher percentage of their money in China-listed stocks.
Other economic measures on the agenda include lifting restrictions on businesses’ China-bound investment, allowing Chinese investment in Taiwan’s property market, and allowing Taiwanese banks to do retail business in the mainland.
Hopes are high on the island that the tourism and other measures will help Taiwan’s lackluster economy. That has become even more urgent as Taiwan has raised fuel prices, battled inflation and seen its stock market go down by 20 percent in Mr. Ma’s first month and a half in office.
No comments:
Post a Comment