Source: Huaxia Jingwei.com
The mainland's progress in planning the "Taiwan Strait Channel" has once again sparked discussion, and it proposed multiple plans such as the North Line, the Central Line and the South Line. The picture shows an aerial shot of the Pingtan Strait Road and Railway Bridge with a total length of 16.34 kilometers. (Picture source from Xinhua News Agency)
The mainland is planning related work on cross-strait transportation infrastructure construction, and a series of progress on the "Taiwan Channel" has once again sparked discussion. Mainland scholars involved in the conception and design of relevant plans said that the mainland now has the engineering ability and economic strength to build the "Taiwan Channel", and there are no technical difficulties that cannot be overcome. Currently, the three routes in North, Central and South have been planned, connecting Hsinchu , Miaoli and Chiayi respectively.
three plans, the north line has the shortest distance
According to the report of " Global Times ", a retired professor at the School of Earth and Water of Tsinghua University and director of the Taiwan Strait Channel Argument Center of the 21st Century Development Institute, Wu Zhiming pointed out that over the past few decades, in the conception and discussion of the "Taiwan Strait Channel", the mainland has produced a total of several plans such as the North Line, the Central Line and the South Line.
picture source from Taiwan media
Wu Zhiming said that the northern line plan starts from Changle, Fujian, crosses Taiwan Strait through Pingtan Island to Hsinchu, and both ends of the line are close to Fuzhou and Taipei, the capital of Fujian Province respectively; the central line plan includes starting from Putian, Fujian, and crossing the Taiwan Strait to Miaoli through Nanri Island ; the southern line plan starts from Xiamen, Fujian, through Kinmen, Penghu Island to Chiayi. After years of discussion, the two programs of the North Line and the South Line have been widely recognized.
He further pointed out that the North Line plan is one of the earliest selected lines. The line is relatively short and close to Taiwan’s main island. It is about 140 kilometers long and the cross-sea part is about 124 kilometers. This plan can enable railways and highways to reach Taipei together. He said that at present, the mainland has built the Pingtan Strait High-Rail Bridge and built a railway station on Pingtan Island.
He also said that another more recognized solution is the South Line. Although the total length is nearly 240 kilometers, almost twice that of the North Line Channel, the advantage is that it is closer to Xiamen Special Economic Zone , which is of great benefit to the development of southern Taiwan.
Regarding the northern line being included in the planning outline of the State Council in mainland China, Wu Zhiming said that after long-term expert discussion, he felt that the most feasible line was also the northern line, but this line has not yet been finalized and is far from entering the step of project implementation.
Fujian completed the Jinma Bridge plan
As for the cross-sea channel between Fujian and Kinmen and Mazu, which has been planned for many years in the mainland, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of the Mainland, recently stated that relevant parties in Fujian Province have completed the preliminary technical plan for the "Tongqiao" of Kinmen and Mazu.
Zhu Fenglian also mentioned that the " National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline " issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the Mainland has planned the construction of the Fuzhou-Taipei branch line, and the Pingtan section of the Pingtan Strait dual-purpose road and railway has been fully connected.
Mainland Affairs Council stated that for a long time, the mainland has continued to include Taiwan in its transportation plans, including roads, railways, high-speed rail, undersea tunnels, bridges, etc. In the near future, the unilateral planning of the railway construction plan from Fuzhou to Taipei is all wishful thinking.
