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The Straits Times April 30, 2007 China's charm offensive on Taiwan is failing, say analysts Economic sweeteners have limited impact as Taiwan's DPP govt blocks tourism talks By China Correspondent, Clarissa Oon BEIJING - CHINA yesterday wooed the Taiwanese public with more economic sweeteners unveiled at an annual cross-strait forum in Beijing attended by Taiwan opposition veteran Lien Chan. However, earlier enticements have apparently been dud shells as China has not gotten any nearer to getting Taiwan to open up to big-spending mainland tourists. As a result, impatience and irritation also surfaced at the two-day forum as China's top tourism official used the occasion to hit out at Taiwan's government. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government, which seeks to separate Taiwan formally from China, has been posing obstructions to long-running talks aimed at sorting out technicalities hindering mainland tourist visits to Taiwan, said Mr Shao Qiwei, director of China's National Tourism Administration. Mr Shao suggested that the stalemate lay with Taipei's insistence on these visits being framed as 'country-to-country tourism', which would make the island equal to China in status. Currently, Chinese tourists can only enter Taiwan via other territories. With tourism talks deadlocked, Beijing yesterday instead announced several minor incentives such as cross-strait education exchanges and more employment choices for Taiwanese on the mainland. Taiwan colleges can now come to the mainland to recruit students, while Taiwanese residents are eligible to take qualifying examinations for 15 professions in China. The one major sweetener is about letting Taiwan invest in wholly owned shipping and container transport firms and operate ports and highways on the mainland. There was, however, no timetable as the announcement by Vice- Communications Minister Xu Zuyuan at the forum needs the blessing of Taiwan's government. 'I hope this forum can further enhance development and cooperation between shipping sectors across the Strait,' Mr Xu said in a speech at the forum. Currently, Taiwan and China have no year-round direct flights and only limited shipping links involving some Taiwanese islets off the mainland coast. The limited impact of this year's cross-strait forum, organised by Beijing and Taiwan's main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), suggests Beijing's charm offensive towards the island is losing steam, analysts told The Straits Times. Beijing is aware that its ally KMT, once confident of re-taking power from the DPP, now seems a non-starter mired in political troubles. In the meantime, the DPP seems increasingly likely to return to power in the island's presidential elections next March. The forum, which ended yesterday, was held for the third straight year. Chinese President Hu Jintao once again met Mr Lien, who stood twice as KMT's presidential candidate, on Saturday before the forum began. The Communist Party's fourthranked official Jia Qinglin presided over the forum with Mr Lien. Some 300 Taiwanese delegates attended the event. The cross-strait forum is a key plank in Beijing's charm offensive towards the island. By offering sweeteners to the Taiwanese public at the annual event, China hopes to marginalise the DPP. However, with the prospect of a KMT leader coming to power receding, its next-best bet now is to see a DPP moderate become president, said Professor Zhu Xianlong of the Macau Polytechnic Institute. clare@sph.com.sg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access |