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Tuesday 4 November 2008
Beijing, Taipei sign deals on trade, transit
Taiwan and the mainland on Tuesday signed a range of deals aimed at bringing the two sides closer economically, after almost 60 years of hostilities that often took them to the brink of war.
Taiwan and the mainland on Tuesday signed a range of deals aimed at bringing the two sides closer economically, after almost 60 years of hostilities that often took them to the brink of war.
Officials from the two sides were shown live on television signing four agreements that are potentially worth billions of dollars, after talks that marked a significant warming of ties between the former bitter enemies.
The two sides have agreed to introduce direct cargo shipping and postal services, to add passenger flights and to discuss food security in the wake of health problems caused by tainted mainland food imports.
Tourism co-operation was also part of the talks, which took place Tuesday morning in Taipei’s Grand Hotel between Beijing’s envoy Chen Yunlin, head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, and Chiang Pin-kung, his local counterpart as head of the Strait Exchange Foundation.
Television footage showed the two men shaking hands as they held copies of the signed agreements bound in red silk brocade.
Mr. Chiang then presented Mr. Chen with a large framed painting with eight Chinese characters, in black on a gold background that read: “Peace agreement for a win-win situation.”
Mr. Chen reciprocated with a crystal sculpture of a handshake, which he said symbolised peace and co-operation.
The two sides have agreed to treble direct passenger flights to 108 per week and expand services to a total of 21 mainland cities, up from the current five.
The deals will introduce cargo flights, with up to 60 round trips per month crossing the 180-kilometre Taiwan Strait that separates the island from the mainland.
Mr. Chiang told reporters after the signing ceremony that both sides were happy to have reached the agreements “as expected”.
He said Taiwan’s current government had completed negotiations on air and shipping links begun by the previous administration of the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Direct air links would cut fuel costs for airlines by 40-50 per cent, he said, adding: “It will greatly boost Taiwan’s competitiveness.”
Direct cargo links would cut shipping costs by 15-30 per cent, he said, with the time of each journey shortened by up to 27 hours, depending on which mainland port Taiwan’s ship are going to.
Currently flights between the two territories have to pass through foreign airspace. Ships have to traverse another country’s waters.
They also agreed to co-operate on food safety in the wake of a number of international scandals involving toxic food.
The issue has caused widespread alarm on the island, after a woman and three children were poisoned by milk, and the industrial chemical melamine was found in dairy products from the mainland, all of which have since been banned.
The agreements, which analysts have said could be worth billions of dollars over the long term, mark a step forward in the relationship between the two sides.
Beijing formally still claims sovereignty over the island, which split from the mainland when the nationalist Kuomintang lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan. The government in Beijing has vowed to retake the island, by force if necessary.
The KMT government of President Ma Ying-jeou won office earlier this year on a platform of closer ties with the mainland in order to improve the island’s sluggish economy.
The policy has drawn widespread criticism in Taiwan, where many people fear that their island is being slowly drawn into a tight economic embrace by Beijing, which will lead to an erosion of freedoms and lifestyle.
While Mr. Ma’s election victory ended eight years of frosty relations across the Taiwan Strait when he beat the DPP’s pro-independence Chen Shui-bian, his popularity has waned in the months leading up to this week’s talks.
He has promised that he is not “selling out” Taiwan to China, but DPP supporters have said they fear closer economic ties will lead to an influx of mainlanders who could take their jobs.
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Beijing, Taipei sign deals on trade, transit
AFP in Taipei
4 November 2008
Taiwan and the mainland on Tuesday signed a range of deals aimed at bringing the two sides closer economically, after almost 60 years of hostilities that often took them to the brink of war.
Officials from the two sides were shown live on television signing four agreements that are potentially worth billions of dollars, after talks that marked a significant warming of ties between the former bitter enemies.
The two sides have agreed to introduce direct cargo shipping and postal services, to add passenger flights and to discuss food security in the wake of health problems caused by tainted mainland food imports.
Tourism co-operation was also part of the talks, which took place Tuesday morning in Taipei’s Grand Hotel between Beijing’s envoy Chen Yunlin, head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, and Chiang Pin-kung, his local counterpart as head of the Strait Exchange Foundation.
Television footage showed the two men shaking hands as they held copies of the signed agreements bound in red silk brocade.
Mr. Chiang then presented Mr. Chen with a large framed painting with eight Chinese characters, in black on a gold background that read: “Peace agreement for a win-win situation.”
Mr. Chen reciprocated with a crystal sculpture of a handshake, which he said symbolised peace and co-operation.
The two sides have agreed to treble direct passenger flights to 108 per week and expand services to a total of 21 mainland cities, up from the current five.
The deals will introduce cargo flights, with up to 60 round trips per month crossing the 180-kilometre Taiwan Strait that separates the island from the mainland.
Mr. Chiang told reporters after the signing ceremony that both sides were happy to have reached the agreements “as expected”.
He said Taiwan’s current government had completed negotiations on air and shipping links begun by the previous administration of the anti-China Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Direct air links would cut fuel costs for airlines by 40-50 per cent, he said, adding: “It will greatly boost Taiwan’s competitiveness.”
Direct cargo links would cut shipping costs by 15-30 per cent, he said, with the time of each journey shortened by up to 27 hours, depending on which mainland port Taiwan’s ship are going to.
Currently flights between the two territories have to pass through foreign airspace. Ships have to traverse another country’s waters.
They also agreed to co-operate on food safety in the wake of a number of international scandals involving toxic food.
The issue has caused widespread alarm on the island, after a woman and three children were poisoned by milk, and the industrial chemical melamine was found in dairy products from the mainland, all of which have since been banned.
The agreements, which analysts have said could be worth billions of dollars over the long term, mark a step forward in the relationship between the two sides.
Beijing formally still claims sovereignty over the island, which split from the mainland when the nationalist Kuomintang lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan. The government in Beijing has vowed to retake the island, by force if necessary.
The KMT government of President Ma Ying-jeou won office earlier this year on a platform of closer ties with the mainland in order to improve the island’s sluggish economy.
The policy has drawn widespread criticism in Taiwan, where many people fear that their island is being slowly drawn into a tight economic embrace by Beijing, which will lead to an erosion of freedoms and lifestyle.
While Mr. Ma’s election victory ended eight years of frosty relations across the Taiwan Strait when he beat the DPP’s pro-independence Chen Shui-bian, his popularity has waned in the months leading up to this week’s talks.
He has promised that he is not “selling out” Taiwan to China, but DPP supporters have said they fear closer economic ties will lead to an influx of mainlanders who could take their jobs.
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