China and Taiwan in landmark deal | |||||
China and Taiwan have signed landmark agreements to improve direct trade and transport links, following the highest-level Chinese visit in decades. The agreements are set to triple the number of weekly direct passenger flights and allow cargo shipments between ports in China and Taiwan. They also aim to improve the postal service and food safety. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan though they have been separately governed since 1949. The agreements were announced on the second day of a five-day visit to Taiwan by Chen Yunlin, China's top official for handling relations with Taiwan.
Under the agreements:
Taiwan has the diplomatic recognition of a handful of states. But since Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and the defeated Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, China has regarded it as a breakaway province which it has threatened to reunify using force. Taipei protests The latest trade agreements come after the two sides held their first, high-level meeting in a decade in June this year, in Beijing. The improvement in relations follows the election of President Ma Ying-jeou in Taiwan.
However, Mr Ma's overtures of ending decades of political rivalry with Beijing have sparked fierce protests in Taiwan, including accusations that he is "selling out" to the mainland. Pro-independence groups staged small protests around Taipei to coincide with Mr Chen's visit, waving flags and banners.
Thousands of police were deployed to ensure Mr Chen's safety, after his deputy Zhang Mingqing was jostled and knocked to the ground by protesters during a visit to Taiwan in October.
SUPPER HUANG, COMPANY MANAGER, 58, TAIPEI, TAIWAN
 Taiwan is an independent country with our own government, military, and judiciary. We have all the features of a sovereign state and we separated from China many years ago. We can talk to China on state-to-state business, just like EU member states talk to the US. But Taiwan's current government did not press the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty. This deal seems unfair to me because there was no equality between Taiwan and China. We did not even use our formal name - Taiwan - during the negotiations. Maybe there will be improved relations between the two sides and this is good - but we still worry that closeness to China might end up bringing us trouble in the future. I want to see the government talk openly about sovereignty rather than economics and trade. There was no public say in the current negotiations. Our congress could not monitor the talks . If there was some participation by the public or the congress, then I might have more confidence. XIAN, STUDENT, GUANGZHOU, CHINA
I feel that if China becomes more democratic then Taiwanese people might become happy to be part of China. In mainland China today, we have no democracy. | |||||
Nana 說:
怎麼沒人說說中國對準台灣的那幾百顆飛彈對和平造成的影響?
BBC didn't report that there were more than 600 thousand Taiwanese people protested in Taipei for Mr Ma's China policy either.
跟一個從不放棄用武力侵犯台灣的國家有啥約好簽? 幹麻要拿台灣的經濟實力去貼人家的冷屁股?
我真的很擔心 如果這樣繼續向共產黨靠攏過去 台灣恢復一黨專政 (這個黨可絕不會是國民黨!)
實施戒嚴 思想控制跟剝奪言論自由的日子也不遠了!
跟中國統一? 不只原有的均富生活被"平均稀釋掉" 連經過數十年民主運動爭取來的民主自由也順便沒了!
苦日子就要來了!
台灣人你準備好了嗎!?!?!?!?!
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