Though government officials have approved direct links between three of Taiwan's islands and China, members of the nation's transportation industry don't see much benefit in the gesture.
Airline and other transportation officials say the capacity of the three islands isn't sufficient to carry out cross-strait aviation and trade on a large-scale basis.
The Offshore Island Development Bill will allow Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu to open direct trade, transportation and communications links with China, lifting a ban that has been in place for more than 50 years.
Wu Rung-kuei (吳榮貴), director of the Navigation and Aviation Department (航政司) at Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC, 交通部), said links might draw away some cross-strait trade from Hong Kong and other ports.
But Wu said infrastructure on the three islands would have to be improved first.
To that end, the transportation ministry has allocated several billion dollars for harbor construction and expansion projects, Wu said. Improvement projects would upgrade the islands' docking capacity, he said.
But officials at China Airlines (CAL, 中華航空) said the direct island links would not benefit them because the scale and capacity at the islands' air ports cannot accommodate large aircraft and passenger volumes.
Meanwhile, government officials have urged direct links between Taiwan's two international airports and China.
They wish to see links implemented gradually, going from coastal cities to small ones, as well as from coastal cities to inland destinations.
Travelers between China and Taiwan currently must change planes in Hong Kong or other third destinations, while ships crossing the Taiwan Strait must dock at a third country's port or at least pick up newspapers there.
The direct island links still need the approval of the Cabinet and the President.
A full lifting of the "three links" ban between all of Taiwan and China could be approved if the experiment is successful, said legislators involved in crafting the island-link proposal.
"It should be a trouble-free start," said KMT lawmaker Chen Ching-pao, though he admitted that opening up direct links to China is a complicated issue to consider.
In recent years, residents of the three islands -- which are closer to China than they are to Taiwan -- have conducted sea trade with Chinese fishing boats, buying seafood and other daily necessities from China's fishermen with cash or through barter trade.
Although the legal barriers from the Taiwan side have been criticized for adding unnecessary costs and red tape to the operations of those either traveling to or doing business in China, the government has maintained that opening up such links would endanger national security.
Several prominent business leaders have been outspoken in their opposition to the ban, such as Chang Jung-fa (張榮發), head of the Evergreen group, which operates the world's largest fleet of container ships.
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