China says it's ready for direct links

China is prepared for direct links with Taiwan, Chinese officials said in Beijing yesterday, as long as Taiwan refrains from labeling them as "country-to-country."

The officials, who included Li Weiyi (李維一), spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, welcomed a proposal from a KMT lawmaker for direct flights between Shanghai and Taipei, but participation by Chinese-owned airlines would be necessary, they said.

Li, who was accompanied by Chinese officials from the trade, shipping, air transportation, information and postal sectors, said that establishing direct links was an economic rather than a political matter.

Direct links, or "three links," are trade, postal and transport.

"In `three links' negotiations, the `one China' principle could be set aside, but we refuse to characterize such links as `country to country' affairs," Li said.

Li said that via negotiations conducted by cross-strait private bodies, Taiwan and China could use vessels and aircraft registered in the two countries, but flying only company flags, to carry goods and passengers.

Restricting cross-strait routes to vessels registered in Taiwan or China would, Li said, "maintain the interests of the people of two sides of the Taiwan Strait, especially the interests of cross-strait air and sea shipping industries."

Li was also receptive to the idea promoted by KMT Legislator John Chang (章孝嚴) of running charter flights for Taiwanese businesspeople living in China to return home during the Lunar New Year.

"We would like to adopt active measures to allow Taiwanese businessmen to go home speedily and conveniently," Li said.

But he added that an "equal and mutual interest" principle should be taken into account by allowing Chinese airlines to also fly the route.

He said that allowing cross-strait private bodies, commissioned by their respective governments, to negotiate the issue was a realistic and feasible way of progressing.

Answering questions from lawmakers yesterday, Mainland Affairs Council Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said the Chinese officials' remarks were "something new" but that the charter flights issue had become more complicated since China wanted its airlines to operate the routes.

"We will take all the information we got today into account when we evaluate the matter," Chen said.

Premier Yu Shyi-kun promised on Tuesday in the Legislature that the Cabinet's decision on the matter would be finalized within two weeks.

DPP and TSU lawmakers, however, questioned whether China had any real "private bodies" under its Communist system.

"They said the matter could be negotiated by private bodies. What kind of private body do they have? They are all state-owned," said DPP Legislator Chang Chin-feng (張清芳).

KMT and PFP legislators urged the government to propose negotiations with China.

"Since China has expressed its attitude clearly, why don't we just propose negotiations with them?" said KMT Legislator Chu Fong-chi (朱鳳芝).

In response, Chen said that as long as China allowed its Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Strait to talk to its Taiwanese counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation, "we are ready to talk any time about any issue."

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