China set to pipe drinking water from Fujian to Taiwan

TAIWAN – Piping of drinking water from China’s Fujian Province to Taiwan is expected to be approved at the third official meeting of Heads of the Taipei City-based Mainland Affairs Council and the Beijing-headquartered Taiwan Affairs Office in Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen County tomorrow (May 23).

Other issues to be discussed by MAC Minister, Hsia Li-yan, and his TAO counterpart, Zhang Zhijun, are expected to include a freight facilitation mechanism, illegal fishing and sand dredging, seaborne garbage, and tourism promotion.
“The meeting will help establish a pragmatic platform for mutual trust and understanding between Taiwan and mainland China,” MAC spokeswoman, Wu Mei-hung, said. “Such exchanges enable better understanding of local perspectives on cross-strait relations by mainland Chinese officials while furthering advances in institutionalised negotiations and interactions.”
According to Wu, the two sides have already reached consensus on one of the main agenda topics: importing water from Fujian. Under the plan, a pipeline will be built connecting Kinmen with Jinjiang, delivering 15,000 tons of water annually to the island.
In addition, a timetable allowing mainlanders to transit through Taiwan is set to be finalised during the meeting, Wu said. “Other matters likely to be broached include Beijing’s M503 flight route, establishing reciprocal representative offices and the participation of Taiwan in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”  www.taiwantoday.tw (ATI).