Taiwan Today

Taiwan will not open the median line in the Taiwan Strait to air traffic as the area is used for training by the country’s air force, President Ma Ying-jeou said July 2. Ma made the remarks in response to a call by Wang Yi, director of the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council, that the median line be opened to facilitate cross-strait direct flights. “During the third round Chiang-Chen talks, we already refused Beijing’s proposal to open the median line in the Taiwan Strait,” Ma said in Panama City at a gathering with Taiwanese media during his trip to Central America. “We have told Beijing our position very clearly several times. We have no intention of being difficult, but this has something to do with our national security,” Ma said. During a meeting in Beijing with a delegation of lawmakers from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan, Wang brought up the issue of opening the median line in the Taiwan Strait. “The number of cross-strait flights needs to increase to as many as 700-800 flights per week to be able to meet demand,” Wang said. “The median line should be opened in order to alleviate the busy direct flight route in the northern line.” According to high-ranking officials from the Presidential Office accompanying Ma, Beijing reserves 90 percent of its airspace for its air force training while Taiwan only has the airspace on the Taiwan side of the meridian. “Thus, for Taiwan, this issue is a no-go area and our position on this issue is very firm.” Meanwhile, regarding the issues of signing a peace accord and building military confidence measures across the strait, President Ma said what is more urgent at the moment is solving the issues that matter most to the public. The president hinted that currently Taiwan’s top priority for cross-strait relations is still economic issues. Ma explained nine agreements have been signed with Beijing during the past year, and each of these agreements is of great importance and urgency. “The negotiations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait should be carried out on a step-by-step basis, and the government will focus its efforts on the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement with the mainland during the next round of Chiang-Chen talks.” As to whether he would meet mainland Chinese leader Hu Jintao, Ma said a meeting of leaders across the strait should be carried out only after cross-strait trade relations have been normalized. “It would be better for leaders of the two sides to meet after solutions to certain fundamental and urgent issues have been found,” he said, adding that otherwise such a meeting would be meaningless. (CYH-HZW) (The article originally appeared in the "United Daily News" July 4, 2009)