Achievements and implications: 15 years of 'three direct links'

Editor's note: Liu Kuangyu is an associate research fellow with the Institute of Taiwan Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. It has been translated from Chinese and edited for brevity and clarity.

In 1979, the Chinese mainland issued the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," a political message full of deep fellow feeling and national righteousness, in which it put forward the policy of peaceful reunification, and for the first time, advocated direct contact and mutual exchange between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. Under the unremitting promotion of the Chinese mainland, on August 31, 2009, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits formally realized comprehensive direct two-way "flights, shipping and postal services". For 15 years, the "three direct links" have facilitated the flow of people, goods, and capital across the Straits, and have played a substantial role in enhancing their common interests, especially for the people of the Taiwan region.

It has greatly facilitated the movement of people across the Taiwan Straits and expanded the overall social interaction. The two sides belong to the same nation, country and common market, but previously, individuals still had to rise above significant barriers for exchanges. After direct flights from the Chinese mainland to the Taiwan region and visa-versa, the scale of cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges has been expanded, the fields have been broadened, and the channels have been enriched. Nowadays, the Taiwan Straits has become a smooth route. Take the region's tourism industry as an example, in 2015, which saw 4 million mainland passenger trips visiting Taiwan, accounting for 40 percent of Taiwan's inbound tourists, creating 210 billion NT dollars in output value, and increasing upstream and downstream employment for an estimated 220,000. Since then, however, the Taiwan authorities have started blocking some mainland tourists from entering the island, and Taiwan's tourism deficit reached a record high of 443.6 billion NT dollars in 2023.

The construction of a cross-Straits information highway has brought people closer together. After the cross-Straits postal service was established in 2009, small stamps carrying nostalgic images quickly linked compatriots' cross water relations. Five years on from "direct mail" in 2014, cross-Straits correspondence and parcels had increased by 2017 percent and 2215 percent respectively. 10 years later, in 2019, cross-Straits correspondence reached 100 million letters and the total number of parcels exceeded 5 million pieces. In the Internet era, digital information interactions have gradually replaced writing letters. With the opening of the cross-Straits submarine telecommunications cable, two-way real-time cross-Straits remittances, shopping on Taobao, chatting on Weibo, and catching up with the Chinese mainland-produced dramas on Bilibili are all becoming parts of Taiwan residents' daily routine. The building of information and data pathways has become a novel infrastructure for people across the Straits to get along with each other and construct common perceptions of one another.

Reducing cross-Straits market transaction costs and safeguarding Taiwan's economic development momentum. The "three direct links" have greatly lowered the barriers and costs of cross-Straits economic cooperation and trade. One year after opening, annual cross-Straits trade surged 40 billion U.S. dollars, a growth rate of 37 percent, of which the mainland's imports from Taiwan region increased 30 billion U.S. dollars, a growth rate of 36 percent. For 15 years, the cross-Straits trade volume continued to grow, and reached a peak of 300 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, which is three times as much as in 2009. The Chinese mainland has long been Taiwan region's largest export market, source of imports and investment destination, mostly supporting Taiwan's foreign trade surplus and comprehensively benefiting the island's high-tech industries such as semiconductors and panels, traditional industries such as chemicals, machinery, agriculture and fisheries, as well as various new consumption and service industries, becoming a major source of power for the region's economy to maintain stable growth, and bring real benefits to the region's society and people.

Nowadays, the two sides of the Straits are accelerating from the "direct three links" to the "new four links" including smooth economic and trade cooperation, infrastructure connectivity, energy resources interoperability, and common industry standards. The two sides should build a social framework of common interests and perspectives, with closer interaction and integration, which will become an important institutional basis for building a cross-Straits market, promotiing cross-Straits integration and development, and ultimately paving the way for peace, stability, and unification of the nation.