Direct air, shipping links to save 31b NT dollars
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-04-15 11:09
If the direct links of air and shipping services across the Taiwan Straits
can be realized, at least 31 billion NT dollars (1 billion U.S. dollars) of cost
will be saved.
Chu-Chia Lin, a professor from Taiwan's ChengChi
University made the remark Saturday at the ongoing Cross-Straits Economic and
Trade Forum in Beijing.
The Chinese mainland has been urging for the
"three direct links" in mail, transport and trade across the Straits since 1979.
The Taiwan authorities, however, are unwilling to cooperate under the pretext of
"security concerns" and "technical issues."
If direct shipping links can
be realized, a total of 840 million NT dollars will be saved, and if direct
flight can be realized, transport cost worth 30.19 billion NT dollars will be
saved, Lin said according to his calculation.
As the trade and personnel
exchanges across the Taiwan Straits become more frequent, the figures are still
conservative and underestimated, he said.
The indirect transport is one
of the major obstacles restricting the competitiveness of Taiwan's products and
enterprises, he said.
The huge costs brought by the indirect flight and
shipment make Taiwan impossible to become a regional economic center, and reduce
Taiwan's attraction to external investment, he said.
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