Direct links could soon be a reality

A group of Taiwanese business magnates is planning to increase its contacts with China by establishing a cross-strait channel for communication between large corporations.

The announcement comes amid a flurry of indicators that a breakthrough in getting long-stalled talks on opening the "three links" with China -- direct postal services, trade and transport -- may be on the horizon.

Kao Ching-yuan (高清愿), president of Uni President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), who wrapped up a visit to China with the San San Group (三三會) Saturday, said the group would travel to China twice a year.

"If Taiwan businesses go to China to invest and Chinese corporations are permitted to invest in Taiwan, many industries, such as tourism and real estate, would be positively impacted," a local Chinese-language newspaper quoted Kao as saying.

The groups member companies include United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Yuen Foong Yu Group (永豐餘集團) and Teco Group (東元集團), and account for 45 percent of Taiwan's gross domestic product or NT$140 billion in annual revenue. They said that they would decrease contacts with Japan.

The San San Group was originally established in 1999 with the goal of strengthening economic ties with Japan and lowering the trade deficit.

But now it is estimated that at least 80 percent of member companies have instead invested in China.

Kao said that the group would reduce the number of times it visits Japan. The group has visited Japan seven times over the last three years, he said.

This announcement came at the end of a week-long trip to China, during which Chinese officials were upbeat on opening links across the Taiwan Strait.

Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛) said on Friday that Beijing and Taipei need not involve politics to open up direct air and shipping links between the two sides, in an indication of a significant softening in China's position.

Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), former chairman of the ruling DPP, said that he received the same message in meetings with Wang Daohan (汪道涵), chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (大陸海協會).

Cable television station TVBS yesterday showed an interview in which Wang tells Hsu that if the two sides wanted to talk about three links then they should do just that and leave politics out of it.

Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), China's top Taiwan policymaker, told members of the San San Group in Beijing on Wednesday that November may be a "turning point" for the two sides to sit down and talk about lifting the ban, a local newspaper reported.

The Legislative Yuan will debate draft revisions in September that may pave the way for direct links.

Two weeks ago three delegations of legislators visited China for talks on direct links.

The visits followed President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) offer last month to let private groups conduct talks on opening the direct links.