Beijing says it now has capacity to build Taiwan high-speed rail link from Chinese mainland
- Taipei has dismissed Beijing’s latest blueprint for boosting connectivity between the island and nearby province of Fujian as ‘wishful thinking’
- But senior official from state planner says people on both sides of the Taiwan strait of long ‘dreamed’ of a high-speed rail link
Cong Liang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Thursday that China already has the engineering and technical capability to build a link from Fujian, the mainland province closest to the island.
Cong did not give any details about what form the rail link would take and it would need a dramatic change in the cross-strait political situation for it to be built.
Beijing regards the island, which is officially recognised by only a handful of countries, as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunited with the Chinese mainland – by force if necessary.
Cong was speaking at a press conference about a 21-article roadmap unveiled earlier this week to make Fujian a model for peaceful “integration” with Taiwan, including plans for cross-strait energy and transport links.
Under the new plan, the mainland authorities will seek to create interconnected living circles between Xiamen in Fujian and the Taiwan-controlled island of Quemoy – also called Kinmen – which is less than 5km (three miles) away, as well as between Fuzhou and Matsu, which are separated by about 20km.