Direct flights, shipping, postal links opened between Taiwan, China
ROC Central News Agency
Taipei, Dec. 15 (CNA) After nearly six decades, Taiwan and China on Monday resumed daily direct passenger flights, direct cargo flights and direct shipping links, seen by many as a step toward ending decades of hostilities and cutting the cost of travel and trade between the two countries.
Daily nonstop charter flights, which will fly more direct routes across the Taiwan Strait, were inaugurated Monday.
According to Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) , a flight from Shenzhen, China, to Taipei landed shortly before 9 a.m. while the first flight from Taipei to Shanghai, China, departed at 8 a.m.
In the first week, 16 daily flights to or from Taiwan and 101 cross-strait flights are scheduled. Eventually, up to 108 flights will be available each week between the two sides, with flight times on the most popular route -- Taipei-Shanghai -- shortened by as much as one hour.
In addition to daily direct air service, direct shipping was also launched for the first time since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Ceremonies were held at seaports in China as well as in Taiwan's Keelung, Taichung and Kaohsiung harbors, to send off commercial vessels on direct routes across the Taiwan Strait.
In all, ships will be able to sail between 11 ports in Taiwan and 63 ports in China, including Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao and Shanghai, without being required to transit through a third region.
Among the ships taking part in the inaugural direct sailings on were vessels belonging to Evergreen Marine Corp. and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.
Evergreen's vessel embarked from Kaohsiung bound for Tianjin, while Yang Ming's set sail from Keelung bound for Shanghai. At the same time, two Chinese vessels left from Tianjin and Shanghai on nonstop voyages to ports in Taiwan.
President Ma Ying-jeou traveled to Kaohsiung Monday for the ceremony marking the historic inauguration of direct cross-Taiwan Strait shipping links.
"The opening of direct air and shipping links means the two sides are no longer hostile toward each other and are willing to replace confrontation with dialogue and conflict with reconciliation, " Ma said.
The launch of the direct cross-strait shipping links is one of four agreements sealed by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) on Nov. 4.
The others expanded air links from weekend to daily nonstop charter flights, and established direct postal services and a food safety mechanism.
The opening up of Taiwan and China's airspace and water to each other will not only cut travel and shipping times, but also the costs of doing business between the two key trading partners, which are suffering from the global economic downturn.
According to Premier Liu Chao-shuan, ships with 20,000 tons of cargo will save NT$200,000 per shipment because of the direct links.
"I am very happy to see that a new page has been turned in shipping links between Taiwan and mainland China," Liu said at the launch ceremony at Keelung Harbor.
"We have worked for several years to make this happen. I am happy to see this progress, but I am sad that it took us so long to complete this step," Liu said.
Such direct links were not possible in the past because China refused to negotiate with former President Chen Shui-bian, whose administration staunchly supported Taiwan's independence.
Since being elected as president in March, Ma has invested enormous efforts in cultivating improving relations with Beijing, openly stating that he opposes reunification with or independence from China and favors pursuing a policy focused in economic ties.
Out of humanitarian concern, the former KMT government started to allow Taiwanese people to visit their families and relatives in China on Nov. 2, 1987, opening a limited door for exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
In recent years, as the cross-strait exchanges have steadily increased, the demand for the opening of the "three links" -- direct transportation, communications and trade links between Taiwan and China -- has been growing, partly due to increased trade and travel between the two sides.
Responding to the people's call, the government established the "small three links" between Taiwan's Kinmen and Matsu and China's Fujian Province on Apr. 5, 2000. (By Andrew Lee) Enditem/cs
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