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Cabinet hopes Beijing will talk about direct flights

The Cabinet said that it hopes to see bilateral direct cargo and passenger charter flights between Taiwan and China take place by next spring, provided China is willing to send appropriate personnel to negotiate the issue.

"As we don't rule out the possibility of operating direct charter flights without having to make a stopover in a third place, we invite Beijing to dispatch appropriate people here to discuss these proposals, as well as other feasible ones," Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told a press conference at the Executive Yuan yesterday morning.

Wu said that the government does not rule out the possibility of holding talks elsewhere, if Beijing wishes.

"We're not sure whether Beijing will relax its stance on cross-strait transportation links but we do hope to get a friendly response from them," he said.

China has insisted that Taiwan accept its "one China" policy before conducting any bilateral talks. It also argued that it is meaningless to make a stopover in a third place, and that the cross-strait transportation service must be treated as a domestic issue. It also insisted that cross-strait transportation should be settled through negotiations between non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Wu made the remarks after attending a meeting presided over by Premier Yu Shyi-kun, who discussed the issue with economic and cross-strait ministers as well as industrial leaders.

The meeting was called after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) requested the Cabinet make efforts to conduct negotiations with China on direct cross-strait transportation links during his National Day speech.

In addition to calling on Beijing to discuss bilateral direct charter flights, Wu said that the Cabinet will adopt a more "flexible and practical" negotiation approach, but insisted that such negotiations have the participation of government officials.

"One thing I'd like to make clear here is that we'll never appoint any lawmaker to conduct cross-strait negotiations for the government because it's against the constitutional spirit for the executive branch to command the lawmaking body," he said.

The government would be happy to talk with Chinese government officials, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (海協會) and any organizations authorized by the Chinese government to discuss the matter under the principle of practicality, flexibility and respect, Wu said.

In a bid to fulfill Chen's pledge to establish "convenient" cargo transportation links between Taiwan and China, the MAC announced on Sept. 1 last year a one-year trial scheme of indirect scheduled charter cargo flights.

Under the program, only Taiwanese airliners would be allowed to operate the flights to Shanghai in a year-long trial.

Flights will leave from CKS International Airport or Kaohsiung's Hsiaokang International Airport with a one-to-two-hour stopover in Hong Kong or Macao. The two designated airports in Shanghai are Putung and Hungchiao international airports.

Describing the planned project as "an immature policy," China turned down the proposal, just one day before the slated implementation of the flights scheduled for Sept. 25.

Wu yesterday called on Beijing to help Taiwan push for the cargo charter flight program, which does not require any bilateral negotiations, but only Beijing's approval.

"But we need to sit down and talk if they want to see direct cargo flights to take place," he said.

In a bid to help China-based Taiwanese businesspeople return home for the Lunar New Year, the government two years ago allowed domestic airlines to operate scheduled charter flights from the CKS International Airport to Shanghai with a brief stopover in Hong Kong.

Wu said that the government would like to adopt the same model to offer the service this year and does not rule out the possibility of extending it to other major festivals.

"However, if they want to see direct charter flights for the New Year and other festivals, we need to talk," he said.
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