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Ma promises to provide boost for airports

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday pledged to turn seven airports into hubs for direct transport links with China and East Asia.

Paying a visit to Taichung Airport on the first stop of an 18-day campaigning trip to central Taiwan, Ma said he would turn the airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport plus five other others -- Taipei Sungshan Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport, Hualien Airport, Magong Airport and Taitung Airport -- into gateways for cross-strait flights.

"It's a priority to open up cross-strait direct flights. The nation has suffered from unstable politics, unsteady government and indecisive policies, and I promise I will change the situation if I am elected," Ma said at Taichung Airport.

Responding to demands from local legislators and borough chiefs for development of Taichung airport to create more business opportunities for Taichung County, Ma vowed to support an expansion plan. He also pledged to improve the infrastructure of the county by improving transportation links between the airport and Taichung harbor.

Condemning President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for failing to keep a promise to implement an expansion plan during a visit to the airport in April, Ma said if he was elected as president he would immediately start negotiations with China on direct flights and seek to ultimately expand holiday charter flights to regular flights.

In addition to Taichung Airport, Ma said he would also transform other airports into hubs for cross-strait direct flights, which would boost the country's competitive edge and create business opportunities.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) drew up a plan in April to expand the airport, including construction of a new passenger terminal for international flights, two taxiways and a hangar.

Wang Te-ho (王德和), deputy director of the CAA, said the airport could only operate regional flights and not trans-Pacific routes due to space limitations.

The CAA-drafted expansion plan remains on the drawing board after being referred to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for review.

As to whether the airport would be allowed to handle charter flights across the Taiwan Strait, the CAA said it depended on government policies, but was technically possible.

Statistics from the airport showed that it handled approximately 18,000 flights last year, with a total of 693,000 passengers.

Ma claimed that the number of passengers could exceed 2 million with cross-strait direct flights.

"After May 20, I will open up direct flights across the Taiwan Strait, and allow more Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan," Ma said.

At the start of a visit that will also include Taichung City, Changhua and Nantou counties, Ma later held interviews with local radio stations to share his campaign platforms. He was due to spend last night at the home of People First Party Legislator Daniel Hwang's (黃義交) high school teacher.

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the lives of the area's residents, Ma will stay in cheap hotels or at local residents' homes during the entire trip.

"Taiwan has made no progress for a long time, and it must move forwards now. I want to develop deeper and more engaged relations with local people," Ma said earlier yesterday in front of KMT headquarters before leaving for Taichung.

He vowed to listen to local residents' opinions during the trip.

Also see story:
Editorial: Ma's venture into the countryside

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