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Direct flights are on the way: Hsieh

The long-delayed issues of cross-strait direct flights and opening Taiwan to Chinese tourists will soon be settled, no matter who wins the March 22 presidential election, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday.

Surveys have shown that more than 50 percent of Taiwanese support cross-strait direct flights, he said.

"This is because of my public advocacy of cross-strait direct flights," Hsieh said.

Hsieh made the remarks while addressing a forum organized by six industry and commerce associations. Hundreds of business leaders attended the event.

Although the support rate for cross-strait direct flights within the business community has been over 75 percent for a long time, it never exceeded 50 percent in previous public polls, Hsieh said.

"Negotiations on cross-strait charter flights and tourism [with Beijing] were close to a conclusion before I stepped down as premier [in January 2006], but Beijing suspended the talks because of the upcoming elections and other reasons," Hsieh told the audience.

He said that cross-strait direct flights could be achieved through an incremental expansion of cross-strait charter flights, including extending current flights during holidays to ordinary days and increasing the number of airports used for the service.

Under the expansion proposal, Hsieh said that about 20 Chinese cities could be included as cross-strait charter flight airports.

"We can also start weekend, morning and evening charter flights," Hsieh said.

His Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival, Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), recently defined flight routes between Taiwan and China as "cross-strait routes" to circumvent the dispute over whether they should be considered "international" or "domestic" flights.

"The definition of `cross-strait flights' is fine with me, but the problem is whether it is acceptable to the Chinese government," Hsieh said.

Taipei Tea Exporters Association chairman Wang Duan-kai (王端鎧), who attended the event, urged Hsieh to lift the ban on the nation's tea exports and allow them to branch into China if elected.

"Forbidding the nation's tea exporters from entering the Chinese market will do the opposite and prevent local tea farmers from tapping into China's economic boom," he said following the two-hour discussion.

During the question-and-answer period, Hsieh addressed the fallout of allowing the nation's agriculture sector to invest in China, as some garlic farmers experienced substantial losses after China-grown, low-quality garlic found its way into the Taiwanese market.

Wang said Hsieh's cross-strait trade policies were "too conservative," while Theodore Huang (黃茂雄), chairman of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會), said he preferred the "pro-China" business approach Ma presented at the forum the previous day.

"I think Hsieh is catching up and narrowing the gap between the two candidates' cross-strait trade policies," Huang said.

Hsieh's emphasis on the development of the nation's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), however, was well received by the group.

"The development of SMEs is often ignored by the government," said Roscher Lin (林秉彬), chairman of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. "We're grateful that Hsieh, as a national leader, pledges to pay special attention to SMEs."

In addition to SMEs, Lin said that the DPP government has been very supportive of disadvantaged low and middle-income groups as well as in the economic development of central and southern Taiwan.

At a separate setting yesterday, Ma renewed his call for Hsieh to allow cross-strait charter flights for the presidential election.

Providing charter flight services to Taiwanese businesspeople working in China and allowing them to return to vote, Ma said, would ensure their civil rights and as such should be supported without reserve.

In response to Hsieh's call for a debate, Ma said the two camps had already agreed to hold two debates on campaign platforms on Feb. 24 and March 9, but added that the issue of cross-strait charter flights required no debate.

"Hsieh didn't hold a debate with me before asking the Cabinet to carry out his campaign platforms, including lowering the estate tax. Let me repeat: Just do it. Just open Election Day charter flights," he said. "We need a president who will act on his promises. We don't need a president who is good at debating."

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH

Also see: EDITORIAL: Frank Hsieh runs the gauntlet
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