At present, nonstop cross-strait charters must still take a detour through Hong Kong airspace before heading to their final destinations.

The president said that after the flight routes and travel times are further shortened, Taiwan and the coastal Chinese provinces would together form a "one-day life circle," a community where people can get all things they need and do all things they want within 24 hours.

This will offer Taiwan's China-based companies more freedom to locate their operations in Taiwan, he said.

But weekend direct charter flights (Friday through Monday) would not be enough on their own to create such an environment, Ma said.

The deregulation of cross-strait investment constraints, which could encourage local overseas-based companies to allocate capital back to the island for reinvestments, are equally important.

Because of isolationist policies and restrictions, Taiwan's economy has suffered capital outflows of NT$4.5 trillion (US$148 billion) over the past eight years, he added.

The Cabinet decided July 17 to raise the ceiling on China-bound capital investment by Taiwan enterprises to 60 percent of their net worth from 40 percent.

There are no restrictions on foreign business groups or their subsidiaries established in Taiwan.

President Ma also rejected criticism that the deregulation would further encourage Taiwan's capital and enterprises to move offshore, saying the moves would make it easier for local businesses to freely manage their capital in making global investment decisions.

Ma urged business and industry leaders to work together with the government to help speed up the investment and business operations amid signs of global economic slowdown.

He expressed the confidence that his administration's policies will help enterprises continue expanding, so Taiwan's overall economy will soon "take off again" when the global economic conditions take a turn for the better.

Subscribe to The China Post and save.  Click hereSharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 800 characters max

Receive China Post promos

Respond to this email