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MAC tells China to forget sea links, work on flights

The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday urged China to accelerate the implementation of its policies for allowing Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan and realize cross-strait direct charter and cargo flights before proposing new initiatives such as direct cross-strait cargo sea links.

MAC made the remarks in response to comments made yesterday by the director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), who said during an economic forum between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that cross-strait cargo sea links should be realized as soon as possible.

Currently cross-strait sea journeys have to go via a third port, such as Hong Kong or Japan's Ishigaki-jima island.

MAC's Deputy Chairman David Huang (黃偉峰) yesterday said China should push existing issues such as allowing its citizens to visit Taiwan and opening cross-strait direct flights before proposing new measures such as direct sea links.

Huang said there had been no concrete results on China's side concerning items that have been on the negotiation table since Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) announced them during the first CCP-KMT meeting last May.

"We are sorry to see that China is not willing to face up to these issues ? while throwing in new proposals. I think it has created an impression that they are not sincere enough," Huang said.

MAC yesterday released an opinion poll indicating that 54 percent of the public agreed that Taiwan's investment in China would have negative impact on Taiwan's economy, and 54 percent of the respondents encouraged the government to tighten controls on China-bound investment.
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