Cross-Strait “Three Links” Achieved

In 1979 the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress issued the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan, first proposing the “three links” of mail, transport and trade across the Strait. For a long time afterward, because of restrictions by the Taiwan authorities, cross-strait travel and trade could only be routed through third places such as Hong Kong. As exchanges grew, the “three links” made gradual progress: in 2001 the “mini three links” opened between Kinmen and Matsu and the Fujian coast; from 2003 there were Spring Festival charter flights, later extended to other holidays. In 2008 Taiwan’s political situation changed greatly and cross-strait relations saw a historic turn. In June, after a break of nearly ten years, ARATS and SEF resumed talks in Beijing and signed agreements on weekend charter flights and mainland residents’ tourism to Taiwan. In November ARATS president Chen Yunlin led a delegation to Taiwan, held talks with SEF chairman Chiang Pin-kung and signed four agreements on sea transport, air transport, postal services and food safety. On 15 December 2008 direct sea and air links and direct mail formally began, and the two sides essentially achieved full, direct, two-way “three links,” a day regarded as a milestone in the history of cross-strait relations. The links made travel far easier for people on both sides and closed their economic ties. The two sides afterward signed a series of agreements including the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, and the mainland became Taiwan’s largest trading partner. As people on both sides belong to the Chinese nation, the “three links” advanced the peaceful development of relations and the well-being of compatriots on both sides.