Dozens of major associations of Taiwanese enterprises on the
mainland have issued a joint and urgent call for the island to take
legislative steps to pave the way for the establishment of the
three direct links across the Taiwan Straits.
Hsieh Kun-tsung, president of the Beijing Association of Taiwanese
Enterprises (BATE), told a press briefing Tuesday that an appeal
letter has been faxed to the "Legislative Yuan," Taiwan's
"parliament," urging the lawmakers to support early realization of
the cross-Straits links.
The letter was drafted by Hsieh himself and signed by the heads of
"about 70 percent" of the 66 associations of Taiwanese enterprises
on the mainland, which represent thousands of firms, according to
the BATE president.
"We sincerely hope the ongoing amendment of laws concerning the
three links will give consideration to the interests of the nearly
1 million Taiwanese businessmen on the mainland and in Taiwan, as
well as to the development of cross-Straits relations in the
future," he said.
The call came as the "Legislative Yuan" is hotly debating two
versions of a draft bill containing amendments to the Statute
Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the
Mainland Area.
The statute, which forbids the three direct links, has served as
the legal basis for Taipei's decades-old ban on direct trade,
transportation and postal services between Taiwan and the
mainland.
The draft bill, submitted by the pro-reunification Kuo Min Tang
(KMT), one of the island's two main opposition parties, asks the
three direct links be "allowed in principle" to force the Taiwan
authorities to scrap the ban.
But another version of the draft bill tendered by the Mainland
Affairs Council (MAC), Taiwan's top policy-making body on
cross-Straits ties, maintains the ban on the links as stipulated in
the statute.
The "Legislative Yuan" plans to approve amendments to the Statute
in November.
Hsieh expressed his worry that if the MAC version is passed, it
will dash hopes on both sides of the straits for the opening of the
three links as soon as possible.
"An early implementation of the three links is both pressing and
necessary, given the fact that the absence of the links has been
causing huge economic losses to Taiwan's economy," Hsieh said.
Because of Taipei's prohibition on direct transport links,
passengers and cargo moving across the straits must first go to
Hong Kong or Macao, adding time and cost and even increasing the
risk of loss of life, according to Hsieh.
(China
Daily October 16, 2002)