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communications" between Taiwan and the mainland.
Cheng
reportedly said that Taiwan had kept in contact with HKG and Cathay Pacific with the aim of maintaining the present service rights after the expiry of the existing agreement on 29 April
1995. He also did not exclude indirect contact with the
mainland and the possibility of negotiating with the mainland on
services between Taiwan and Macau. The Express (16 Nov) quoted a CNS report as saying that HKG had already indicated an agreement in principle to prolonging air service rights with Taiwan until 1997.
20.
In an interview with Ming Pao (15 Nov), Taiwan's
unofficial representative in Hong Kong John Ni said that last year Taiwan's trade with the mainland amounted to more than $17bn [currency unspecified] and would be somewhat higher this year. He said that Taiwan had changed its earlier negative attitude to post-1997 Hong Kong and now planned to maintain its
close commercial and cultural relations with the territory. It also hoped to promote closer understanding of Taiwan through the media and various exchanges. The Taiwan government's ultimate objective was to enable the mainland to experience Taiwan and Hong Kong's style of life, and not the other way round. He said that the Governor's proposals deserved support as a formula for more rapid democratic development. He expressed guarded optimism over the process of change on the mainland, adding that if there were turmoil there that would cause problems for "all of us". Ni said that his policy was to encourage Taiwan firms to invest in Hong Kong and to use Hong Kong as a base for
investment in the mainland and other countries adding that the
main emphasis now was on promoting the leadership of "popular
forces".
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