Wang Yi, head of the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, first proposed the idea at the Straits Forum in May.
At the time, he expressed hopes that such an area could become a base for cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan in the areas of finance and logistics. Since then, plans related to the proposed zone in Fujian have been released one after another.
The mainland authorities are planning high-speed railways linking Beijing with Fuzhou and Kunming with Xiamen as part of the push for the new economic zone. They are looking to link the zone with the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta and have even proposed building three tunnels under the Taiwan Strait to link Taiwan with Fujian.
Lin Cheng-hsiu, vice chair of the New Taiwanese Cultural Foundation, said that such a zone would be a threat to Taiwan, especially in the areas of petrochemicals and steel mills, and that Taiwan needs to develop response measures.
Taiwan Today reported that Taiwan’s enterprises in the mainland, especially those dealing in cement, look to benefit from greater investment by mainland China in Fujian, beginning work this year on a subway in Fuzhou and the building of a Fuzhou-Xiamen highway.
Lin Shiaw-shinn, chairman of Taiwan’s Goldsun Group, said, ‘The mainland authorities] have been talking about the establishment of an SEZ in Fujian for many years. Things are finally moving forward.’