Hsieh says Kaohsiung ready for direct links

The re-elected mayor of Kaohsiung City, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), said yesterday that the city is almost ready for the opening of direct air links across the Taiwan Strait.

"We are preparing for the day that cross-strait direct transportation becomes a reality -- and we are almost ready," Hsieh said.

Hsieh made the remarks at a post-election news conference yesterday morning.

Kaohsiung will possibly be chosen as a port for handling direct cross-strait transportation services. Reporters asked Hsieh if he would visit Hong Kong or China to discuss the matter.

Hsieh replied that he would not go to either if only for his own personal business. But, he said, "As long as Kaohsiung City could benefit from it, I would not rule out the possibility of going anywhere in the world, including Hong Kong and China."

Hsieh stressed that it is not necessary for him to visit China at this stage. "We have to await the final decision from the central government [on direct links], but we are well-prepared," he said.

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had said last Friday -- one day before the elections -- that Kaohsiung International Airport, rather than the Chiang Kai-shek International airport, would be the first choice when the government considers opening direct cross-strait links in the future.

Chen made his remarks while campaigning for Hsieh, saying that the government should put more effort into developing the southern part of Taiwan, rather than the North. The pledge makes Kaohsiung more likely to be chosen as a key cross-strait transportation hub -- if direct links ever become a reality.

Hsieh, former chairman of the DPP, secured 386,384 votes, or 50.04 percent of the vote, to win re-election in a tight contest against opposition KMT candidate Huang Jun-ying (黃俊英). Hsieh won by some 25,000 votes.

Meanwhile, in a seminar held yesterday, the director of Hsieh's office, Hsu Jen-tu (許仁圖), welcomed the central government's commitment to make Kaohsiung the key port for cross-strait transportation.

Hsu said that Hsieh proposed plans during his election campaign to establish Kaohsiung as an international port that would be able to handle more passengers and goods. "This shows that Hsieh has a good plan for developing Kaohsiung," he said.

While Kaohsiung's plan to become a cross-strait port seems to be moving forward, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign to open Taipei's Sungshan Airport to direct cross-strait flights, is unlikely to materialize.

According to Vice Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council Chen Ming-tong (陳明通), the airport that will serve as the cross-strait linking point will have to be an international one.

Taipei's Sungshan Airport therefore does not qualify because it only handles domestic flights.