A novel approach to the problem of a divided China is now being seriously discussed in Beijing -- a plan to build the world's longest underwater tunnel between the mainland and Taiwan.
The route preferred by China is three times the length of the Channel tunnel and would take at least 16 years to build. An alternative route is nearly twice as long again.
The cost at current prices, experts say, will be 1.4 trillion yuan (US$170 billion) -- if everything goes well. New tunneling technology would be required to deal with the threat of earthquakes and other hazards.
Illustration: Mountain People
A team of geologists and other scientists has just returned from on-the-spot investigations along the coast of China's Fujian province facing Taiwan. The mission was organized by Beijing's prestigious engineering university Qinghua, which has set up a 21st century development research institute.
Route No 1 leaves the Chinese mainland at Fuqing with a 19km aerial bridge to the small island of Pingtan. It then plunges under water for 125km to surface near Hsinchu on the north coast of Taiwan.
The underwater section of the Channel Tunnel is 38km, with a total tunnel length of 50.45km.
The only other comparable tunnel in the world links Japan's Honshu island with Hokkaido. But of its 53.85km, only 23.3km are under water.
The alternative route proposed by the Chinese scientists starts near Xiamen in the south of Fujian province, crossing the Strait to reach land near Tainan City.
It would have the advantage of using the islands of Kinmen and Penghu as stepping stones. But the total length, mostly under water, would be 220km.
A photograph of the Chinese scientists published yesterday in Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po newspaper showed them poring over maps and peering excitedly into the distance.
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