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Three Links
The Three Links or Three Linkages (Chinese: 三通; pinyin: sān tōng) was a 1979 proposal from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to open up postal, transportation (especially airline), and trade links between mainland China and Taiwan, with the goal of unifying Mainland China and Taiwan.
Before the establishment of the "Three Links", communication between the two sides were routed through intermediate destinations, primarily Hong Kong; Macau; Jeju, South Korea and Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The "Three Links" were officially established on 15 December 2008, with the commencement of direct flights, shipping and post.
In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping and his supporters won the 3rd plenary session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, starting China's economic reform. This also began a new direction in the PRC's foreign policy. On January 1, 1979, Beijing proposed the Three Links of postal, commercial and transportation. It was also proposed together with the Four Exchanges, which included relatives, tourists, academic groups, cultural groups and sports representatives.
In response to the Three Links, Republic of China (ROC) President Chiang Ching-kuo of the established the Three Noes policy (Chinese: 三不政策; pinyin: Sān Bù Zhèngcè). When the United States broke diplomatic ties with the ROC in 1979, the PRC believed that it had complete leverage in convincing the ROC government to talk. President Chiang refused, reiterating that there were to be "no contact, no negotiation and no compromise" (不接觸，不談判，不妥協) with the PRC.
The hijacking of a China Airlines cargo plane on May 3, 1986, shattered the Three Noes policy. The pilot, Wang Shi-chuen, subdued the two other members of the flight crew and commandeered the plane to Guangzhou, forcing the ROC government to publicly send unofficial envoys to negotiate in Hong Kong with PRC officials over the return of the plane and the flight crew. The pilot, credited by the PRC for reestablishing contact between mainland China and Taiwan, received a hero's welcome in mainland China and became a senior PRC aviation official as well as serving as a so-called "Taiwanese delegate" to PRC government institutions.
During this time, many mainland China-born ROC armed forces veterans pressed President Chiang Ching-kuo to allow family reunions between the mainland Chinese who settled in Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War and their relatives in mainland China. President Chiang relented in 1987, authorizing the ROC Red Cross to issue permits allowing people from Taiwan to travel to mainland China only for family reunions. This started the ongoing regular civilian and unofficial exchanges between the PRC and the ROC. In July 1987, Chiang ended martial law in Taiwan, and residents of Taiwan were able to visit relatives in China that November. From June 1988, mail from Taiwan sent to Chinese addresses were routed through Hong Kong. Phone calls were routed through the United States, Japan and Singapore until 10 June 1989. Among the first direct calls placed to China were Taiwanese journalists asking about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
While the PRC and ROC agreed in principle on opening the Three Links, there were overriding concerns. According to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of the ROC, the major obstacle resided in the PRC's One-China position which does not recognize the sovereignty of the ROC. The Council stated that the Three links would only be considered when the PRC stopped its animosity against ROC sovereignty and improved the cross-strait relationship. The PRC government considers the cross-strait flights as domestic flights, according to the One China Policy. However, the ROC's Democratic Progressive Party government in Taiwan regarded this position the same as recognizing Taiwan (ROC) as a part of the PRC and thus would compromise the ROC sovereignty.
The previous administration led by President Chen Shui-bian, who was in power from 2000 to 2008, was keen to establish direct links under his "four noes and one without" pledge. China reacted with caution however, and was eventually infuriated when Chen spoke of "Taiwan and China on each side of the Taiwan Strait, each side is a country", and the Taiwanese administration believed establishment of the links would not be possible. However, China eventually shifted its position when it realized that the three links may be an opportunity to hold on to Taiwan, with its Minister of Transport and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen declaring that the "one China" principle would no longer be necessary during talks to establish the links, which would be labelled merely as "special cross-strait flights" and not "international" nor "domestic" flights.
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Three Links
The Three Links or Three Linkages (Chinese: 三通; pinyin: sān tōng) was a 1979 proposal from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to open up postal, transportation (especially airline), and trade links between mainland China and Taiwan, with the goal of unifying Mainland China and Taiwan.
Before the establishment of the "Three Links", communication between the two sides were routed through intermediate destinations, primarily Hong Kong; Macau; Jeju, South Korea and Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The "Three Links" were officially established on 15 December 2008, with the commencement of direct flights, shipping and post.
In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping and his supporters won the 3rd plenary session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, starting China's economic reform. This also began a new direction in the PRC's foreign policy. On January 1, 1979, Beijing proposed the Three Links of postal, commercial and transportation. It was also proposed together with the Four Exchanges, which included relatives, tourists, academic groups, cultural groups and sports representatives.
In response to the Three Links, Republic of China (ROC) President Chiang Ching-kuo of the established the Three Noes policy (Chinese: 三不政策; pinyin: Sān Bù Zhèngcè). When the United States broke diplomatic ties with the ROC in 1979, the PRC believed that it had complete leverage in convincing the ROC government to talk. President Chiang refused, reiterating that there were to be "no contact, no negotiation and no compromise" (不接觸，不談判，不妥協) with the PRC.
The hijacking of a China Airlines cargo plane on May 3, 1986, shattered the Three Noes policy. The pilot, Wang Shi-chuen, subdued the two other members of the flight crew and commandeered the plane to Guangzhou, forcing the ROC government to publicly send unofficial envoys to negotiate in Hong Kong with PRC officials over the return of the plane and the flight crew. The pilot, credited by the PRC for reestablishing contact between mainland China and Taiwan, received a hero's welcome in mainland China and became a senior PRC aviation official as well as serving as a so-called "Taiwanese delegate" to PRC government institutions.
During this time, many mainland China-born ROC armed forces veterans pressed President Chiang Ching-kuo to allow family reunions between the mainland Chinese who settled in Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War and their relatives in mainland China. President Chiang relented in 1987, authorizing the ROC Red Cross to issue permits allowing people from Taiwan to travel to mainland China only for family reunions. This started the ongoing regular civilian and unofficial exchanges between the PRC and the ROC. In July 1987, Chiang ended martial law in Taiwan, and residents of Taiwan were able to visit relatives in China that November. From June 1988, mail from Taiwan sent to Chinese addresses were routed through Hong Kong. Phone calls were routed through the United States, Japan and Singapore until 10 June 1989. Among the first direct calls placed to China were Taiwanese journalists asking about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
While the PRC and ROC agreed in principle on opening the Three Links, there were overriding concerns. According to the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) of the ROC, the major obstacle resided in the PRC's One-China position which does not recognize the sovereignty of the ROC. The Council stated that the Three links would only be considered when the PRC stopped its animosity against ROC sovereignty and improved the cross-strait relationship. The PRC government considers the cross-strait flights as domestic flights, according to the One China Policy. However, the ROC's Democratic Progressive Party government in Taiwan regarded this position the same as recognizing Taiwan (ROC) as a part of the PRC and thus would compromise the ROC sovereignty.
The previous administration led by President Chen Shui-bian, who was in power from 2000 to 2008, was keen to establish direct links under his "four noes and one without" pledge. China reacted with caution however, and was eventually infuriated when Chen spoke of "Taiwan and China on each side of the Taiwan Strait, each side is a country", and the Taiwanese administration believed establishment of the links would not be possible. However, China eventually shifted its position when it realized that the three links may be an opportunity to hold on to Taiwan, with its Minister of Transport and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Qian Qichen declaring that the "one China" principle would no longer be necessary during talks to establish the links, which would be labelled merely as "special cross-strait flights" and not "international" nor "domestic" flights.