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Penghu to be a `special economic zone'

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC, 陸委會) yesterday unveiled a project to develop the Penghu (澎湖) archipelago into a "special economic zone" as part of the government's plan to open direct cross-strait shipping and trade links from Taiwan's offshore islands.

According to the MAC's plan, opening shipping links to offshore islands, including Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu, is a preliminary measure to the government's intended lifting of a decades-long ban on direct cross-strait transportation, trade and postal and communication links, generally known as the "three links."

This is the first time the MAC has made public a project concerning Penghu.

In a presentation to the legislature's Home and Nations Committee, MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said developing the "special economic zone" in Penghu County is a long-term goal to be achieved in line with the government's measures to reinstate the "three links."

Under the project, Penghu would become an international tourism, resort and conference center maintaining "normal trade links" with China, Tsai said.

As a short-term goal, Tsai said, the government would open direct shipping links between Penghu and China in several stages, on the condition that Taiwan's security would not be jeopardized.

In the first stage, Penghu would be permitted to import specific goods, such as gravel, from China. Other liberalization moves to follow would include cross-strait cultural exchanges, such as religious activities, special cross-strait training programs and conferences, the setting up of a computer software zone, and cross-strait agricultural and fisheries cooperation.

Tsai, however, did not offer any timetable for the Penghu development project.

A project to open direct cross-strait shipping links between Kinmen and Matsu and the Chinese ports of Xiamen and Fuzhou will be finalized in December and implemented in January at the earliest.

Tsai explained that the government had decided to separate Penghu from Kinmen and Matsu in its planning because, she said, Penghu is different from the other areas in terms of its developmental advantages and its strategic role in national defense.

"As Penghu is located near the median line of the Taiwan Strait, it plays a crucial role in the defense of Taiwan," Tsai said.

She said the MAC would start evaluating direct cross-strait shipping to Penghu after links from Kinmen and Matsu have been normalized.
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