Taiwan Ship’s China Trip Ends Ban
The first Taiwanese ship to sail directly to Communist China in 48 years left the island’s southern Kaohsiung Harbor on Thursday with little fanfare.
The Uni-Order, registered in Panama and owned by Taiwan’s Uniglory Marine Corp., was due to arrive in China’s Xiamen port early today after a 12-hour voyage.
The formal voyage across the Taiwan Strait is the first by a Taiwanese vessel since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 with the Communists controlling the Chinese mainland and the defeated Nationalists in exile on Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.
“I am glad that the sailing across the Taiwan Strait finally becomes reality,” Uni-Order’s captain, Yao Ming-fu, said before the ship’s departure.
But Taiwanese officials showed no signs of jubilation.
No officials were at the harbor to witness the departure, and no ceremony was held or planned at either Kaohsiung or Xiamen to mark the historic occasion.
On Saturday, the China-owned, St. Vincent-registered Sheng Da ship sailed from Xiamen to Kaohsiung in the first direct voyage across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan, which has banned direct links with China since 1949, has agreed to allow limited direct shipping with the mainland.
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