Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) Republic of China Premier Chang Chun-hsiung said Tuesday that the time for Taipei-Beijing reconciliation has come, adding that the government will evaluate and plan for direct trade, postal, and transport links with mainland China in stages.
Reporting at a legislative interpellation session, Chang said that when even the leaders of North and South Korea can step out of their ideological frames to break their long-standing impasse, Beijing and Taipei must do the same and replace criticisms and diatribes with rational dialogue.
He added that conflict must be replaced with negotiations and hostility with good will so that room for "broadband communication" between the two sides can be created, thereby establishing a new normalized, institutionalized, and transparent interactive framework.
As a gesture of good will, Chang said that Taipei will not have any predetermined stance going into negotiations with Beijing, which he said can take any form, take place under any occasion, and dwell on any subject as long as both put aside their disagreements and reach out to the future under the principles of acceptance, equality, and reciprocity.
Chang also pointed out that evaluations and planning have been completed on the "mini-three links" between mainland China's Fujian Province and Taiwan's outlying Kinmen and Matsu islands.
He went on to say that the initial stage will be based on the principle of "one port per area," with links to be established between set points and regular runs to occur at periodic intervals on fixed routes.
Meanwhile, National Police Administration Director-General Wang Ching-wang was in Kinmen Tuesday to look into local law enforcement needs. He pointed out that Kinmen's police force will be beefed up to help prepare for the mini-three links scheduled to commence in December.
The number of tourists from Taiwan to Kinmen is expected to increase with the implementation of the mini-three links. At the same time, up to 700 mainland Chinese citizens will be allowed to enter Kinmen per day and approximately 2,800 will be in Kinmen at any one time, Wang said. Because of this sudden influx, Wang noted that public security measures must be taken to thoroughly investigate all smuggling channels for illegal drugs, firearms, and fugitives. (By Fang Wen-hung)
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