People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (
Chang and five other Kaohsiung City councilors are scheduled to meet with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng (
The delegation, which returns on Thursday, will propose a draft bill on direct links between Kaohsiung and Shanghai in order to boost the port city's economy.
Chang said earlier that the visit marked the implementation of one of the agreements reached during a meeting in Beijing last year between PFP Chairman James Soong (
According to Chang, direct transport between the cities should be implemented in three stages.
First, direct sea links between ports in Kaohsiung and Yangshan and direct flights between the Kaohsiung International Airport and Pudong Airport should be implemented for a trial period of a year.
Second, direct flights should be established between Kaohsiung International Airport and five Chinese airports, as well as direct shipping services linking Kaohsiung port to five Chinese ports for a one-year trial. Third, air and shipping links between Kaohsiung and China should be set up.
Chang also said a referendum must be held during the the year-end Kaohsiung mayoral election in order to determine public opinion on whether to establish air and sea links with Shanghai.
However, in reference to Chang's trip to Shanghai, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Huang Wei-feng (黃偉峰) said last Friday at a news conference that any political party or private sector group must abide by the nation's laws while engaging in cross-strait activities that require government authorization.
Huang said that any agreement reached between unauthorized private groups from Taiwan and the Chinese side regarding Taiwanese people's rights or government power were invalid.
Meanwhile, Chang yesterday urged the president to loosen his control over the Executive Yuan.
Chang made the statement at a news conference before leaving for Shanghai, in reference to today's meeting between President Chen Shui-bian (
Chang said he doubted that the confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties could be resolved through a single meeting. However, he said he expected the president to listen to the public's wishes on reform and to opposition parties' desire that he adopt a milder approach in his policies.
The meeting between Chen and Ma today would be meaningful if the president could ease his control over the Cabinet, Chang said.
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