Mainland researchers and officials predicted Tuesday that major progress will be made in establishing the three direct links across the Taiwan Straits this year.

Their optimistic forecast was partially fuelled by the first flight of a Taiwanese civil plane to the mainland in 54 years on Sunday. The aircraft flew Taiwanese businessmen home for the Spring Festival holidays.

Xu Shiquan, director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Beijing's growing flexibility and pragmatism is set to give an impetus to the realization of trade, transport and postal services between Taiwan and the mainland.

Barriers out in place by the Taiwan authorities seem to be of diminishing value in hindering the inevitable trend of establishing the three links, he added.

"The open and sincere attitude adopted by the mainland will undoubtedly inspire growing calls from within the island for such links and also create a favorable atmosphere for related talks," Xu said in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

"Moreover, the Taiwan authorities led by Chen Shui-bian will be put under greater pressure to take more actions to achieve rapprochement and reciprocate the mainland's goodwill and kindness."

The researcher said opportunities will arise for making major progress in realizing the three direct links if Taipei honors its pledges to develop cross-Straits ties.

Chen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said on January 1 that both Taipei and Beijing should prioritize the creation of a platform that would lead to peace and stability.

"The two sides can begin with such issues as negotiations, direct transport and relevant economic and trade links,'' he said in his New Year speech.

Vice-Premier Qian Qichen, one of the mainland's top policy-makers on Taiwan affairs, clarified Beijing's open-minded proposal for dealing with the three links on January 24 in a bid to jump-start related dialogue.

"Talks about opening the three links are not political negotiations and may not touch upon the political meaning of one China," he said at a seminar to mark the eighth anniversary of President Jiang Zemin's eight-point proposal on developing cross-Straits relations.

Yang Guoqing, deputy director of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), told a similar seminar Tuesday that the successful implementation of the landmark indirect cross-Straits charter flight scheme has fully demonstrated the mainland's sincerity and kindness.

Despite the lack of co-operation from the Taiwan side, the CAAC approved 16 indirect charter flights operated by six Taiwanese airlines between Shanghai and the island between January 26 and February 10.

The mainland's flexible and pragmatic move, which contributed to a historic breakthrough in cross-Straits air links, will actively push forward real direct transport links between the two sides, Yang said.

He expressed hope that more chartered passenger and cargo flights across the Straits can be arranged this year in the wake of the Spring Festival plan.

An Min, vice-minister of foreign trade and economic co-operation, said Taiwan and the mainland are both members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and this will provide opportunities and conditions for solving the problem of the three links.

"In line with the WTO principle of non-discrimination, Taiwan authorities should open the three cross-Straits links and abandon discriminative restrictions against the mainland,'' An said.

Taiwan became the 144th member of the global trade body on January 1 last year, under the title of the "Separate customs territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Jinmen and Matsu'' -- or "Chinese Taipei'' for short -- following the entry of the Chinese mainland in December.

But it has yet to ease its rigid trade restrictions against the Chinese mainland, which threaten to undermine the prospects for closer economic integration across the Straits.

An said the mainland's fast-developing economy and its huge business potential will benefit the island in reviving its flagging economy.

"So we hope the Taiwan authorities will set up the three direct links at an early date, develop cross-Straits trade exchanges in a bilateral and direct way and expand the scope for bilateral economic co-operation in the new year," he said.

(China Daily January 29, 2003)