| Abstract | Everyone who had forecast the opening of direct sea and air links between Taiwan and the mainland before the British handover of Hong Kong to China must have celebrated the arrival at Kaohsiung of the first merchant marine ship from the People's Republic on 19 April 1997. However, shipping links are not only restricted (to the ports of Amoy and Fuzhou in Fujian Province), but are also "semi-direct", since goods to or from Fujian province remain in bond in Kaohsiung: they may neither enter nor leave Taiwan. In other words, these new sea links are for transit or trans-shipment only. The author assesses its impact on relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. |
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