Direct flights favorable to development of Taiwan, Mongolia

Ulaan Chab, Inner Mongolia, July 26 (CNA) A direct flight route between Taipei and Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, which was launched in June, will help boost the tourism industry on both sides and facilitate the development of Taiwanese businesses in northern China's Autonomous Region, a chief Taiwanese negotiator with China said on Friday.

Kao Koong-lian, vice chairman of Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Taiwan's semi-official intermediary body that handles cross-strait exchanges, made the remarks after a visit to Beijing Jingneng New Energy Co.'s Inner Mongolia branch in Ulaan Chab.

After the first flight route linking north China's Inner Mongolia and Taiwan started operating, the passenger traffic on the route rose due to the increasing familiarity of the Taiwanese public with Inner Mongolia, Kao noted.

Enormous opportunities have been arising as an increasing number of Taiwanese visit summer resorts in Inner Mongolia, while more and more Mongolians spend their winters in Taiwan to avoid the freezing cold in the Chinese autonomous region, since the launch of the flights, Kao added.

Owing to abundant natural resources and numerous scenic sites in Inner Mongolia, the per capita income of local people is quite high, Kao said, adding that Taiwanese businesses are encouraged to tap into the opportunities on offer in the traditional or services industries in Inner Mongolia, given the region's increasing domestic demand.

On the other hand, Taiwan is an ideal place for the development of commercial ocean energy electricity generation through joint ventures between the island and China, Kao noted.

Ulaan Chab, a prefecture-level city in Inner Mongolia, was approved to be covered under the Open City initiative by the state Council in 1992. It is in a suitable geographic location, being 320 kilometers west of Beijing and 130 km east of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia.

(By Scarlett Chai and Y.L. Kao)
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