Under pressure from China's all-out direct links offensive and the push from pan-blue legislators for amendments to the Statute Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (
But things are never quite so clear, especially when it comes to cross-strait issues.Yu was quick to add the caveat that the two sides of the Strait must sit down and talk about the charter flights. The Mainland Affairs Council, however, immediately insisted that any flights from Shanghai must stop over in Hong Kong or Macau before flying on to Taiwan. Checkmate or stalemate?
In the tug-of-war, the government was forced to allow charter flights. But the planes must first land elsewhere and undergo security checks. This is similar to flights that have been awarded to Dragon Airlines and Air Macau. Taipei can allow local carriers to fly charter flights in a similar manner. The government has managed to safeguard its bottom line of "no direct flights," while at the same time showing some flexibility for the sake of Taiwanese passengers' convenience.
But this compromise is not without problems. After all, chartered direct flights are still direct flights and so involve the same security, technical and sovereignty issues. The government had planned to complete an evaluation on direct flights by the end of this month, but pressure from legislators almost derailed the schedule. Taiwan's "direct links" defense line -- no links without negotiations -- was almost demolished by its own legislators.
It appears that the government needs to become more pressure-resistant.
Charter flights pose many technical issues that will have to be negotiated by civil aviation authorities on both sides. If the charters are simply an extension of the Hong Kong/Macau flights, then only Dragon Airlines, Air Macau and Taiwanese carriers such as China Airlines, EVA Airways and Far Eastern Air Transport are eligible to operate such flights. But if Chinese carriers want to get involved, such flights will raise almost the same issues as real direct flights. The need for cross-strait dialogue will also become more pressing.
Indirect flights will make travel to and from China more convenient. The government has shown that it is willing to take the intiative and ease restrictions on links. If the Chinese authorities can cooperate, the charter-flight model may then be gradually expanded to full-blown direct flights. Gradual experimentation is a pragmatic method. Going after direct links without the experimentation process will make the negotiation process even more difficult.
Don't pick an apple before it is ripe. One cannot make a sour apple sweeter by putting it back onto the tree. The same is true for direct links. The Executive Yuan and the Mainland Affairs Council must maintain the initiative and carefully handle the direct-links issue. Otherwise, the consequences will be irreversible oncedirect links are opened.
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