Opposition lawmakers urged the government to accelerate the opening direct of links as the first charter flight between Taiwan and China in 54 years returned to Taipei yesterday.
DPP and TSU lawmakers, however, did not see the charter flights as the start of direct links opening, although some DPP lawmakers suggested that the government move in this direction.
"The meaning of these charter flights is significant. They may give the government an example of how to proceed with direct links," said KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
"The government should thoroughly review its direct-links policy. Before the government opens direct links, it should continue approving domestic airlines' applications to operate charter flights between Taiwan and China," Lee said.
According to Lee, the government should allow charter flights on other significant holidays and permit carriers to fly to major centers in China.
Lee added that the KMT caucus will propose adding a direct links section to the Statute Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (
PFP Legislator Chung Shao-ho (
"The government should put aside its political considerations," Chung said.
Another PFP lawmaker, Chiu Yi (
"The realization of the charter flights allows the possibility of direct links," Chiu added.
However, DPP legislative whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the charter flights are simply a "temporary measure."
"The charter flights are not the government's first step toward direct links," Chen said.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) said the flights do not have much significance, but added that direct links would help the economy in the long term.
"Direct links is the way Taiwan will have to go," Lee said.
DPP Legislator Chang Ching-fang (張清芳) also urged the government to start talks with China.
"Many Taiwanese businessmen in China believe direct links are impossible. Some of them have decided not to return to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year," Chang said.
TSU Legislator Huang Chung-yung (
"Less than 40 percent of the seats offered on the charter flights have been filled. TSU lawmakers will refuse to back a direct links act if it does not give Taiwan and China equal status," Huang said.
Meanwhile, the six airlines which obtained permission to operate the charter flights see the flights as an opportunity to gain access to the Chinese market.
TransAsia Airways chairman Tony Fan (
EVA Airways president Steve Lin (林寶水), Mandarin Airlines president Mike Lo (樂大信) and UniAir president Cheng Kuang-yuan (鄭光遠) also planned to go on their companies' first charters to China.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
RSS