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Penghu may get `mini-link' role

Penghu might become a relay station between Taiwan and China, similar to Kinmen, Premier Frank Hsieh said yesterday.

"Penghu is definitely qualified to apply, as a special case, to handle direct transportation with China," he said. "The possibility of passing such an application is quite high and we will seriously consider it."

Hsieh made the remarks in Penghu yesterday morning in response to media inquiries about Penghu becoming a relay station under the "mini three links" plan.

The "mini three links," established in January 2001, opened the door for residents of Kinmen and Matsu to travel to Xiamen in China's Fujian Province without restrictions.

Hsieh said the earliest Penghu would take such a role would be next month. He did not say, however, if any government agency is already drawing up plans.

Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday that the premier was referring to direct transport for religious pilgrimages.

Wu, however, said that the government would consider allowing other forms of direct transportation for Penghu, as a special case.

Hsieh went to Penghu yesterday for a ceremony marking the upgrading of the National Penghu Institute of Technology to National Penghu University.

Meanwhile, China's preferential tariff exemptions on the import of 15 types of Taiwanese fruit took effect yesterday.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reiterated that neither the government nor the DPP caucus have hampered fruit exports to China.

They are duty bound, he said, to educate farmers on all the pros and cons of the offer so that they could make an informed decision.

Lai urged farmers to review their long-term interests to ensure they don't become the biggest loser in the game.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus leader Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) said the government has been blocking fruit exports to China for political reasons.

Cho said that it baffles him that Taiwanese fruit is banned from going to China when it is exported all over the world.

KMT Legislator Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the party's Central Policy Committee, called on the government to establish a cross-strait common market or risk seeing the nation's market marginalized.

Tseng dismissed media speculation that the KMT is planning to set up an agricultural development fund and four fruit-trading centers in China to help promote agricultural exports.

(Additional reported by Shih Hsiu-chuan)
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