Top mainland and Taiwan negotiators signed historic agreements yesterday in Taipei to establish fully-fledged "three direct links" - transport, postal¹ service and trade across the Straits.

The agreements were inked during a visit by Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), to the island. It is the highest-level visit by a mainland envoy² to Taiwan in nearly 60 years, which have mostly been marked by hostility³ and confrontation⁴.

Taipei banned the "three direct links" across the Straits in 1949, citing security concerns.

Chen and his Taiwan counterpart, Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman Chiang Pin-kung, signed four pacts⁵ on air and sea transport, postal service and food safety yesterday afternoon.

The two envoys⁶ held a two-hour meeting in the morning, the first of its kind on the island since cross-Straits talks began in 1993.

At the signing ceremony broadcast live on the mainland and Taiwan, the two smiled, shook hands and sipped⁷ champagne⁸ after they exchanged copies of the pacts bound in red silk brocade.

Chiang presented Chen a large framed painting with eight Chinese characters, in black on a gold background, that read: "Peaceful negotiations⁹ create a win-win situation."

Chen reciprocated¹⁰ with a crystal sculpture of a handshake, which he said symbolized¹¹ peace and cooperation.

According to the agreements signed yesterday:

The number of direct charter flights will be tripled to 108 per week. The frequency will be raised from four times a week to daily. Routes will be shortened, and private business jets will also be allowed to fly.

Planes can use 21 mainland airports. The two sides relaxed restrictions¹² in July after their envoys met in Beijing, and signed a deal that allowed flights from five mainland cities.

Direct tax-free cargo¹³ shipments will be allowed between 11 Taiwan seaports¹⁴ and 63 on the mainland.

Direct cargo shipments were previously¹⁵ banned.

There will be 60 direct cargo flights per month.

As the definition of new air routes across the Straits was considered sensitive, negotiators reached a consensus¹⁶ to define them as "special cross-Straits air routes" without saying whether they are domestic or international routes.

Direct postal links will be allowed to save delivery time, which now takes as long as 10 days.

A mechanism¹⁷ will be established for ensuring food safety by alerting each other to threats.

All the agreements will take effect in 40 days, except the one on food safety, which becomes effective in a week.

Chiang told reporters after the signing ceremony that both sides were happy to have reached the deals "as expected".

Direct air links would cut airline fuel costs by 40-50 percent, he said, adding: "It will greatly boost Taiwan's competitiveness."

Direct cargo links would cut shipping¹⁸ costs by 15-30 percent, he said, with journey time shortened by up to 27 hours.

SEF Vice-Chairman Kao Koong-lian said both sides have agreed to hold high-level talks every six months, with the next round likely to be held on the mainland early next year. It will cover banking¹⁹, securities and futures²⁰ markets, Chen said.

The talks won praise from three chambers²¹ of commerce representing the US, Japan and Europe. In a joint²² statement, the business groups said "Taiwan can only benefit from having greater interaction with one of the world's fastest-growing markets".

Mainland experts on Taiwan studies yesterday said the agreements are of historic significance.

Li Jiaquan, a senior researcher with the Institute of Taiwan Studies affiliated²³ to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the pacts realized a dream cherished by the two sides for three decades.

The mainland proposed establishing the three direct links in December 1978.

The two sides have previously signed some pacts on travel and trade but most did not allow for direct cross-Straits contact and some of the exchanges were one-sided, said Li.

Li said the new pacts will help both sides strengthen cooperation in the face of a global financial meltdown.

Questions:

1. How long did the envoys’ meeting last?

2. How much will  shipping costs be cut by?

3. When were the three direct links first proposed?

Answers:

1. 2 hours.

2. 15-30 percent.

3. In December 1978.