Beijing yesterday accused Taiwan of obstructing the indirect
cross-Straits charter flight proposal for the forthcoming Spring
Festival holiday while hinting at further flexible moves to
facilitate the arrangement.
"The crux (to the current stagnation in the program) is that the
Taiwan authorities have failed to seriously consider arranging
safe, convenient and comfortable return trips to the island for
Taiwan businessmen as well as their immediate interests," said Li
Weiyi, spokesman with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State
Council.
"If they can come up with a positive attitude and moves (on the
matter), the indirect charter flight plan will soon be
realized."
He
was referring to Taipei's refusal to allow private talks across the
Taiwan Straits about technical issues involved in the charter
flight plan between January 26 and February 10.
The spokesman added that Taipei has been playing word games on the
plan without taking practical steps in an attempt to politicize the
economic issue.
In
line with the program approved by Taipei on December 4, Taiwanese
airlines will be allowed to operate indirect charter flights
between Shanghai and Taipei via Hong Kong or Macao for the first
time during the Chinese lunar New Year period, which falls around
February 1.
Up
to 400,000 Taiwan businessmen and their families estimated to be
living and working in Shanghai are expected to benefit from the
proposed scheme.
But implementation of the proposal has become bogged down because
the Taiwan authorities have refused to authorize or entrust local
industrial associations to enter talks with mainland counterparts
to work out detailed arrangements for the plan.
"Technical problems should be solved first through across-Straits
consultations so the indirect charter flight can be run
successfully and smoothly," Li stressed.
"But Taiwanese airline associations have been banned by the Taiwan
authorities from conducting such talks."
Li
suggested yesterday that Beijing might take further flexible and
pragmatic moves to create looser conditions for arranging talks on
technical problems.
"If the Taiwan airline associations really have difficulty (in
entering talks with their mainland counterparts), we are willing to
consider other suggestions from them," the spokesman said. He then
refused to elaborate.
(China Daily December 26, 2002)