Premier says China can't use airspace

Although the Cabinet said it will allow Taiwanese jetliners to fly through Chinese airspace, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday said that the government will not allow Chinese aircraft to use Taiwanese airspace.

"It will never happen until Beijing signs a peace agreement with us," the premier said.

Hsieh made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) yesterday morning, when he was asked whether Taiwan will also lift the ban on Chinese aircraft flying in Taiwanese airspace. The remarks were recorded and made public by the Government Information Office.

The premier said that it would be impossible for the government to do so, because Beijing still regards Taiwan as an enemy, as evidenced by the fact that China has deployed hundreds of ballistic missiles within striking distance of Taiwan.

Hsieh also said that Taiwan had years ago given up on the futile oath made by former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to "retake the mainland" and to "relocate" the capital of the Republic of China from Taipei to Nanjing. As a result, Taiwan has proven that it is no enemy to China, and therefore it was impossible that Taiwanese aircraft could be a threat to the Chinese government. In addition, Taiwan has not deployed any missiles aimed at cities in China.

"This is something which is known by the international society," the premier said.

"However, we have to retain the ban against Chinese aircraft, because the Chinese government does not have this same friendly attitude toward us," Hsieh said.

The premier continued, explaining that the government will not jeopardize national security when discussing potential contacts with the Chinese government.

"Unless Beijing and Taipei sign an agreement ensuring peace in the Strait, it will be impossible for us to allow their aircraft to fly through our airspace," the premier added.

Meanwhile, the government's top cross-strait policymaking agency yesterday said that the details of cross-strait direct charter flight for passengers have yet to be decided. The comments came in response to reports that the flights will be approved for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, weekend holidays and for Chinese tourists that might be allowed to visit Taiwan in the future.

"We hope the bilateral negotiation can proceed smoothly, so we don't expect to see too much speculation about the details," the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a press release yesterday.

Hsieh announced Wednesday that the government had agreed to hold negotiations with Beijing in tandem for the liberalization of charter flights for passengers, cargo and "other special purposes."

Following Hsieh's announcement, news reports quoted officials from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and officials from the MAC as saying that the coverage of passenger charter flights would include the Mid-Autumn Festival, routine weekends and flights for Chinese tourists.

The MAC said that the problems surrounding the issue of passenger charter flights are complicated, and could only be solved via bilateral negotiation.

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Lien says he has discussed direct charters with China