China grudgingly supports new Taiwan links

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Chinese state media gave sparse coverage on Wednesday to the first legal voyage by Taiwanese ships to the Chinese mainland in 51 years, but one newspaper said Beijing would support the new transport links.

Taiwan permitted three vessels from its frontline islands of Quemoy and Matsu to sail directly to the Chinese mainland on Tuesday, marking a small but symbolic step towards establishing full trade, transport and postal links between the rivals.

China has avoided expressing enthusiasm for the limited links, trying instead to achieve much broader transport links it hopes will help lead to Taiwan reunifying with China.

The People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, published two brief articles about the voyages on the back page which said passengers from Matsu and Quemoy were greeted warmly after making direct voyages to Fujian province.

VIDEO CNN's Mike Chinoy reports on the move by the Taiwanese government (January 2) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Background on the trade links, from CNN's Lisa Rose Weaver (January 1) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO Yiping Huang, senior economist for Solomon Smith Barney, shares his opinion on the planned opening of the mini-link between Taiwan and China 335k/15 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Taiwanese statehood?   ALSO Key events in Taiwan-China ties

Similar articles appeared in other newspapers. All failed to mention it was the first such trip permitted by the Taiwan government.

Only an English language newspaper, the China Daily, gave the event prominent coverage, calling the voyage a "milestone" but quoting an expert at a government think tank as saying the links were "utterly inadequate."

"Taipei's plan to partly ease a ban on direct cross-Straits transport, trade and postal services has fallen short of real and full bilateral links," it quoted Xu Shiquan, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Taiwan Studies, as saying.

The proposal is "an utterly inadequate measure," it quoted Xu as saying.

But Beijing was "poised to support the plan and help put it in place," he said.

Under Taiwan's unilateral plan, which went into effect on January 1, boats from Matsu and Quemoy may carry travellers and goods to the Fujian ports of Fuzhou and Xiamen.

Up to 700 mainland Chinese at a time may also apply to visit Quemoy and Matsu for up to seven days, but can only go there on Taiwanese ships.

Small boats have actually ferried between Fujian and the Taiwan islands for years, but Taipei has considered the activities smuggling while the mainland has welcomed them as legal trade.

Copyright 2001 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Taiwanese ships make historic calls in Chinese ports
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Taiwanese begin historic voyage to China
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CIA -- The World Factbook 2000 -- Taiwan

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