Is this the beginning of the end for Taiwan? A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, after all. Or steps, if you read below.
The Daily Yomiuri ザ・デイリー読売 is running an interview in its Friday edition with Vice President-elect Vincent Siew 蕭萬長 that was conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun 読売新聞 ("Siew: Taiwan to lift yuan ban Vice president-elect also vows to broaden tourism from China"):
"Taiwan Vice President-elect Vincent Siew reiterated Wednesday that Taiwan's new Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, administration plans to lift a ban on the exchange of the Chinese yuan currency as soon as possible, as well as launch weekend charter flights to and from China and start accepting Chinese tourists in July. Siew was speaking during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun in Taipei, his first with a Japanese news organization since winning the vice presidency last month. After President-elect Ma Ying-jeou takes office May 20, Siew is expected to play a central role in affairs concerning Japan and China."
In the interview, Siew says that talks on direct flights and an increase in the number of Chinese tourists have finished on a "technical level", and are awaiting a "political decision". He also mentions that discussions with China will resume in June, and that his talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao 胡錦濤 earlier this month were "positive". The article then goes on to state:
"...Taiwan's new administration plans to allow the exchange and circulation of yuan as soon as possible, in anticipation of the expected arrival of Chinese visitors. The exchange and circulation of Chinese currency has been banned in Taiwan except for some areas, such as Kinmen Island, which lies just off the mainland coast."
Other "good news" that Siew reveals in the interview include: an increase in the number of airports that provide direct access to China from two to as many as seven; the allowance of Chinese investments in construction projects in Taiwan; and the acceptance of China's offer of two giant pandas. It looks like this island will slowly, but surely, be drawn ever closer into China's orbit once the Ma-Siew administration takes over next month.
(On the topic of the expected increase in Chinese tourists to Taiwan, I've read several things on local blogs to the effect that tourist sights are going to get more crowded here as a result. I'm not worried about that happening, but I do wonder if the recent promotional efforts made by local tourist officials to attract more Western and Japanese visitors, which have been a great improvement compared to the not-so-distant past, might lag again if businesses prefer to take the easy road by relying more and more on yuan-spending mainlanders).
Finally, when it comes to the Japan-Taiwan relationship, Siew has this to say:
"Siew stated his intention to deepen relations with Japan, saying Taiwan aims to conclude an economic partnership agreement with Tōkyō and make efforts to launch flights between Taipei's Sungshan Airport and Tōkyō's Haneda Airport. 'We'd like to continue and further develop the Taiwan-Japan relationship, which has advanced under the [current] Democratic Progressive Party [administration],' Siew said. Asked about the fisheries issue in the waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by Taiwan, Siew said: 'We should shelve the [territorial] dispute and try to facilitate benefits for both sides. We shouldn't allow [the dispute] to affect the Taiwan-Japan relationship.'"
I guess when the presidency and legislature are safely in your hands, it doesn't hurt to give the DPP some credit!
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