PRC Taiwan Relations Two Steps Forward One Step Back

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28240658

Taiwan, China launch direct shipping, air links
Relationship formally ends ban that began during Chinese civil war in 1949


updated 3:26 p.m. CT, Mon., Dec. 15, 2008
KEELUNG, Taiwan - Taiwanese jetliners and cargo ships left Monday for China to open a new era of direct air and shipping services with the mainland, formally ending a nearly six-decade ban on regular links between the rivals.

The passenger flights and sailings reflected perhaps the most dramatic improvement in relations between the two sides since they split amid civil war in 1949.

Ties over the years have been consistently tense and, occasionally alarming, with both sides amassing missiles that remain pointed at each other across the 100-mile (160-kilometer) wide Taiwan Strait.

Beijing still claims sovereignty over the democratic island and has repeatedly warned that any attempt at a permanent split could trigger a devastating conflict.

Despite the tensions, flourishing economic ties over the past two decades have bound the two sides together, with annual bilateral trade now totaling about $100 billion.

Presiding over the sailing of the first vessel from Taiwan to China since 1949, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said the new air and maritime links will greatly boost Taiwan's economy and put an end to the sabre rattling of the past.

Ma: 'Replace conflicts'
"We will use dialogue to replace confrontation and reconciliation to replace conflicts," said Ma, who's swearing-in seven months ago marked a turning point in cross-strait relations.

Since taking office in May, Ma has moved aggressively to jettison the anti-China, pro-independence policies of predecessor Chen Shui-bian, trying his best to turn the corner on one of the postwar world's most enduring conflicts.

Besides the shipping and aviation initiatives, he has also sanctioned a significant expansion of Chinese tourist traffic to Taiwan and helped open the way for increased bilateral investment between the sides.

China has reacted warmly and both have agreed to set aside thorny political disputes to focus on trade. The two sides signed a pact early last month to open up the direct links.

Monday's big events began at 8 a.m. (GMT 0000) when a Taiwanese Trans Asia Airways jetliner took off from Taipei's Sungshan airport, transporting 148 Taiwanese tourists and businesspeople on the 80-minute flight to China's financial capital of Shanghai.

At the same time a China Eastern Airlines plane in Shanghai departed for Taipei, winging its way across the Taiwan Strait.

The flights mean that travelers no longer need to switch planes at a third point — typically Hong Kong — while direct shipping precludes the need for vessels to make a brief stop at the Japanese island of Ishigaki.

Before the morning was out, Taiwanese ships from the ports of Kaohsiung, Taichung and Keelung had set sail for Chinese harbors, and a Chinese vessel had departed Tianjin harbor en route for Taiwan.

108 weekly flights
Under a pact signed last month, the mainland will open 63 ports and Taiwan will open 11 harbors for direct cross-strait shipping. Weekly flights between the sides will total 108, supplemented by 60 monthly cargo flights.

The new transportation links mark a major step forward in business ties Taiwan and the mainland, begun amid great fanfare in the early 1990s, but long limited by political tensions. Before Ma took office in May, direct flights across the strait were limited to Chinese holidays, and ships had to stop briefly at the Japanese island of Ishigaki.

Taiwanese businesses had pushed for years to end the ban on direct links. The new arrangements will save costs and generate new business as both Taiwan and China feel the pinch of the global economic slowdown, said Chiang Pin-kung, head of Taiwan's semiofficial Straits Exchange Foundation.

"This will contribute greatly to our economic development," said Chiang, who signed the air and shipping pacts with his Chinese counterpart, Chen Yunlin.

Taiwan's government said the links will save shippers $36 million a year, while annual savings for air travelers should amount to $90 million. The latter figure reflects the end of the old requirement for travelers to change planes at a third point — typically Hong Kong.

Still, some Taiwanese remain skeptical of the economic impact of the new links, pointing to the lower than expected number of Chinese tourists visiting the island, and the tough conditions for Taiwan-based mainland investors in the midst of the worldwide economic slowdown.

Taiwan imposed the ban on regular links six decades ago. Former President Chen attempted to end it but failed to strike a deal with the mainland because of its deep distrust of him.

In Beijing, Xu Lirong, executive vice president of the China Ocean Shipping Group Company, said the direct shipping links will cut the cost of the company's related freight business by 30 percent.

Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying it would "bring new vigor to economic and trade ties" between the two sides.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27290422/

Taiwanese protesters attack Chinese envoy
Assault by pro-independence demonstrators comes amid warming relations

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Pro-independence protesters in southern Taiwan pushed an envoy from rival China to the ground on Tuesday while shouting that their island does not belong to Beijing.

The attack on Vice Chairman Zhang Mingqing of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait was shown on television news broadcasts and comes amid improving relations between Beijing and Taipei under the administration of new Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou.

Ma was elected in March after promising to turn the corner on the pro-independence policies of predecessor Chen Shui-bian and seek expanded trade and political relations with China, from which Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949.

China continues to claim the island as part of its territory and has threatened to invade if it ever moves toward formal independence.

Surrounded at temple commemorating Confucius
Pictures from Taiwan TV stations showed about a dozen protesters surrounding Zhang at a Tainan temple commemorating Confucius, then toppling him to the ground while shouting anti-communist and pro-independence slogans.

"Taiwan does not belong to China," protesters shouted.

Zhang was helped to his feet by an escort and rushed to a waiting vehicle. A middle-aged man stomped and banged on the vehicle but did not attempt to prevent it from leaving the scene.

The attack on Zhang comes several weeks before a planned visit by Chen Yun-lin, Zhang's boss and the point man in pushing for unity across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait.

Mass protest planned
On Saturday, the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party is scheduled to hold a mass rally in Taipei to protest Ma's China policies, which include regular direct flights between the sides and liberalized conditions for Chinese investment on Taiwan.

The DPP says Ma's approach is undermining Taiwan's sovereignty and putting the island's de facto independence and its democratic political system at risk.

Ma says better trade relations with China are necessary to bring Taiwan closer into the international economy. He has promised not to discuss the issue of unity with the mainland during his presidency.

 

Since most of the Taiwanese are Han Chinese also I don't think having their culture overwhelmed by the Chinese are going to be a problem like Tibet. For that matter Taiwan is more developed than most of the PRC so its not like the PRC is going to be able to impose an economic or developmental hegemony on the Taiwanese. The better example is HK where its been a mixed bag. While the economy in HK has been good there have been problems with the PRC backing off on the promises of democracy and autonomy to HK.