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Ma unveils plan for cross-strait flights

Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou yesterday mapped out his plan for Taiwan-China direct flights, which designates six international and domestic airports as the local destinations for cross-strait routes.

Ma laid out the plan at Taichung’s Chingchuankang Airport, one of six destinations in his cross-strait direct flight scheme, as he arrived in the central city on the first leg of his “Live Around the Island” campaign tour.

The other five are the Taipei Sungshan Airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Kaohsiung Hsiaokang Airport, and two small domestic airports — one in the eastern county of Hualien, and the other in the outlying island county of Penghu.

He said if elected, he would turn the Chingchuankang Airport into a major international passenger and cargo hub linking both sides of the Strait and Southeast Asia.

He said he would further create an “international dual hub” for aviation and maritime transportation in the central Taiwan region, which already boasts a busy Taichung Harbor.

The KMT candidate has been advocating more frequent and regular cross-strait air links, but political wrangling between China and Taiwan — governed by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party — has been standing in the way.

The government currently only allows charter flights across the Strait during holiday seasons between the Taoyuan airport and coastal Chinese cities via Hong Kong or Macau air space.

The DPP government has also rejected the idea that the Taipei airport be included in a cross-strait direct flight scheme, citing security concerns such as a “Trojan horse” raid on the capital city by Chinese troops hidden on incoming planes.

Observers said Ma’s plan, along with a lifting of a ban on Chinese tourists, would boost tourism to Taiwan, including the economic backwaters in the eastern coast and outlying islands.

Ma, mapping out his plan, pointed out that the Chingchuankang Airport has been seriously under-utilized since it was rushed into operation ahead of the 2004 presidential elections, when many of its facilities were not yet ready.

Ma’s “Live Around the Island” campaign tour will see him making longer stays in different parts of Taiwan to better understand local needs ahead of the 2008 presidential poll.

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	Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou yesterday mapped out his plan for Taiwan-China direct flights, which designates six international and domestic airports as the local destinations for cross-strait ... Enlarge Photo


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