As more Taiwanese see the successful practice of the "One Country, Two
Systems" principle in Hong Kong for the past 10 years, this will accelerate the
peaceful unification of China, a Chinese official said in Beijing Wednesday.
Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State
Council, at a press conference in Beijing. [file]
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Yang Yi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council made
the remarks at a press conferenc in Beijing. When asked about Hong Kong's role
in Cross-Straits relations, Yang replied "more and more compatriots in Taiwan
would know, understand and approve the policy after seeing the prosperity that
Hong Kong has achieved with this unique political solution."
In the past 10 years since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, the "One
Country, Two Systems" policy had ensured the former British colony greater
autonomy and continuous stability and prosperity, which serves as a good example
to resolve the Taiwan issue, the spokesman said.
He went on to say that Hong Kong has acted as a bridge between Taiwan and the
Chinese mainland in the past decade, and kept and developed an appropriate
relationship with the island under the guidance and authorization of the central
government.
According to Yang, more than 3 million Taiwanese people visit the mainland
via Hong Kong every year, and Cross-Straits trade via the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (SAR) is more than US$10 billion annually. And the numbers
are still increasing.
"We believe that the Hong Kong SAR will further develop relations with Taiwan
with its unique political status and with appropriate policies in the future,"
said Yang.
He released figures of charter flights during the
traditional Dragon Boat Festival this year. From June 15-22, a total of 6,461
passengers traveled on the flights between Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen
on the mainland and Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, with the participation of 11
airline companies from both sides.
The first non-stop charter flights across the Taiwan Strait were launched during the
Chinese Lunar New Year in 2005. Prior to that, there had
not been direct air links across the Taiwan Strait for more than
five decades.
But the spokesman urged for regular and more frequent flights on weekends,
saying it could be "truly" convenient to travelers and beneficial to those
airlines.