Print

Mail

wiki links

MAC report warns opening of links may deceive public

The Mainland Affairs Council has completed an impact assessment report on the opening of direct transportation links across the Taiwan Strait, handing the report to the Executive Yuan yesterday as a reference for when it drafts policies.

According to the council report, academics have expressed concerns that an opening of direct cross-strait transportation links might lead the public into incorrectly thinking that cross-strait hostilities have consequently resolved.

Academics are also concerned that local industries may be compromised as a result of an opening of direct cross-strait links, the report indicated.

Non-Taiwanese media, according to the report, generally do not think direct cross-strait transportation links will materialize anytime soon given that the leadership on both sides have not budged on their positions, with Beijing insisting on its "one China" policy and Taipei insisting there is "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait.

Meanwhile, the domestic media hold the view that the possible costs to sovereignty and national dignity should be taken into consideration when dealing with the issue of direct transportation links, the report indicated.

Most of the members of the business community welcomed the plan for the opening of the direct links, saying the links will help them reduce costs. However, they are also worried that the links might actually bypass the Strait for various reasons, and that if this is the case, some lines will still bear increased costs, the report said.

Some industries would face direct threats to their survival with the opening of direct cross-strait links, according to the report.

The report said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party are of the view that cross-strait talks on the issue should not be postponed until after the presidential election next March.

The Taiwan Solidarity Union, meanwhile, said that it would agree to the links talks only if they are conducted under the principles of "one country on each side," security and equality, the report said.

The report said Beijing considers the issue "apolitical," and so the two sides can put aside the "one China" policy issue during links talks.

On Tuesday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said cargo links with China would be in place before Oct. 19.
This story has been viewed 2769 times.