Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors to this Volume
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Who are We? Identity in Transition
- 2 Taiwan: Yearning for an Identity
- 3 The Implications of Direct Flights: Beijing in Taiwanese Politics
- 4 Kuomintang, Democratization and the One-China Principle
- 5 The Deepening and Consolidation of Democracy in Taiwan
- 6 India and Taiwan: Bolstering Complementarity in Information Technology
- 7 Asian Regional Economic Integration and Taiwan–India Economic Relations
- 8 The Taiwan Factor in Sino–Indian Relations
- 9 Japan's Triumphant Diplomacy in Taiwan in 1874
- 10 A Study of the Cultural and Educational Exchanges between Taiwan and India, 1995–2006
- 11 Between Two Worlds: A Survey of Education in Taiwan
- 12 Female Immigrants, Social Capital and Public Sphere in Taiwan
- 13 Information Technology and Gender: Taiwan and India
- 14 Tzu Chi: A Case Study of Engaged Buddhism in Taiwan
- 15 Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan and the Development of Humanistic Buddhism
- 16 The Heritage and Innovation of Chan Paintings in Taiwan
- 17 Taiwan in World Architecture: A Historical Perspective
- Afterword
3 - The Implications of Direct Flights: Beijing in Taiwanese Politics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Contributors to this Volume
- Acronyms and Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Who are We? Identity in Transition
- 2 Taiwan: Yearning for an Identity
- 3 The Implications of Direct Flights: Beijing in Taiwanese Politics
- 4 Kuomintang, Democratization and the One-China Principle
- 5 The Deepening and Consolidation of Democracy in Taiwan
- 6 India and Taiwan: Bolstering Complementarity in Information Technology
- 7 Asian Regional Economic Integration and Taiwan–India Economic Relations
- 8 The Taiwan Factor in Sino–Indian Relations
- 9 Japan's Triumphant Diplomacy in Taiwan in 1874
- 10 A Study of the Cultural and Educational Exchanges between Taiwan and India, 1995–2006
- 11 Between Two Worlds: A Survey of Education in Taiwan
- 12 Female Immigrants, Social Capital and Public Sphere in Taiwan
- 13 Information Technology and Gender: Taiwan and India
- 14 Tzu Chi: A Case Study of Engaged Buddhism in Taiwan
- 15 Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan and the Development of Humanistic Buddhism
- 16 The Heritage and Innovation of Chan Paintings in Taiwan
- 17 Taiwan in World Architecture: A Historical Perspective
- Afterword
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Is a direct flight from Taipei to Shanghai an international flight or a domestic flight? It is both. It is international by the International Civil Aviation Agreement of 1944. It is domestic in the sense that it probably won't be operated by any foreign airline, but by airlines in Taiwan and in the Mainland. So what is it then? It is a special flight. What should we call it? Say, Cross-straits Flight.
Ma Ying-jeouThis statement by Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou captures the nature of the problem of cross-straits flights. The ambiguity involved allows the respective governments to interpret to their own advantage the nature of these flights. However, the issue at hand has always been more than one of a simple renewal of contacts between Taiwan and the Mainland. Direct transport, trade and postal links – the ‘three links’ – with the Mainland were snapped by the Republic of China (ROC) government that had fled to Taiwan following its defeat. Today, in an era of deepening economic ties, the lack of direct and convenient links between the two political entities remains something of an anachronism. What has complicated matters, however, is the fact that the strengthening of Sino-Taiwanese economic ties has also been accompanied by the rise of Taiwanese nationalism represented for nearly seven years by an avowedly pro-independence party in power.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Taiwan Today , pp. 22 - 41Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2010