Taiwan not likely to dig China's plan for $80B tunnel connection, say ... Fox News
China plans cross-strait highways without approval from Taiwan
China's latest plan to link the mainland to Taiwan, either by bridge or via a tunnel that would be triple the size of the one under the English Channel, is sure to ...
China plans cross-strait highways without approval from Taiwan
Beijing drafts plan for symbolic bridge, but lacks approval from Taiwanese authorities
The mainland government has recently approved a national road project
that includes two cross-strait highways linking both sides of the
Taiwan Strait.
If completed, the project would be a literal and figurative bridge between the mainland and Taiwan and would mark a major milestone in cross-strait relations.
However, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the island’s top cross-strait policy planning body, told the South China Morning Post the project had been “unilaterally worked out by mainland authorities”.
[1]
“Based on national security concerns and cross-strait interactions, we have not planned anything with such high political sensitivity and complexity,” the council said, spelling out the island’s political and security concerns.
The mainland’s State Council approved the National Highway Network Plan (2013-30) in June after it was proposed by the transport ministry, according to state media.
The China Daily reported last week that one of the proposed highways would start from Beijing and pass through Tianjin , Hebei , Shandong , Jiangsu , Anhui , Zhejiang and Fujian . Another highway would start in Chengdu and pass through Hunan , Jiangxi and Fujian before crossing the strait and ending in Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan.
It was unclear whether a bridge or undersea tunnel would be built to span the strait, but some analysts said a tunnel would be a better option. The proposal reportedly claims a 122-kilometre tunnel between Pingtan county, Fuzhou , and Hsinchu in northern Taiwan would provide for safe and efficient travel.
The tunnel would also be more than twice the length of the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France – currently the world’s longest undersea tunnel.
Wu Zhiming , a tunnel expert and a professor at Tsinghua University, first came up with the cross-strait tunnel proposal in 1996. Since then, the Fujian provincial government has organised discussions and seminars, and invited experts, scholars and researchers, including some from Taiwan, to discuss the feasibility of the undertaking.
Taiwan and the mainland have been military enemies since the end of a civil war in 1949, but relations have warmed since Ma Ying-jeou became president of Taiwan in 2008 and adopted a policy of working with the mainland.
A road link between the two sides would likely not only have political implications, but it would save money on transport, compared with the high price of sea and air freights, economists said.
But what the economists dubbed a cross-strait economic zone would not come cheap. The proposal estimates that a tunnel could cost at least NT$2 trillion (HK$518 billion).
And despite the relatively warmer ties in recent years, Beijing still considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must eventually be reunified with the motherland.
This has drawn the ire of the island’s pro-independence camp, led by the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which has rejected the proposed road link, saying it would create easier access to the island for mainland military forces.
“This is not the first time that the mainland has unilaterally worked out such a project,” said Wang Kung-yi, a professor with the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei.
“Unilateral as this may be, the mainland has to create projects like this to show that it has the ability and confidence to do so.”
In March 2009, then-railways minister Liu Zhijun proposed a cross-strait railway network linking Beijing with Taipei and Xiamen with Kaohsiung.
Wang said the DPP was opposed to such constructions, including building a bridge between Xiamen and the Taiwanese-controlled island of Quemoy, which the party fears could play into the mainland’s “reunification scheme”.
The government of Quemoy first proposed building the bridge in 2006, in a bid to increase tourism and economic exchanges with the mainland.
Ma voiced support for the bridge three months after becoming president in 2008, but he later stepped back amid mounting criticism from the pro-independence camp.
Currently, about 400,000 mainland tourists visit Quemoy every year, and the Quemoy government predicts that number would grow threefold if the bridge were constructed.
台灣病人，找不到權威醫師看病、開刀的現象，已拉起警報。台灣醫院最缺的外科、婦產科醫師，大陸正夯。對岸高薪挖角，愈來愈多醫生登陸賺人民幣，變身「假日飛刀手」。台灣為什麼留不住好醫生？該如何挽救缺醫師、醫生外流造成的醫療崩壞？
四十多歲、在區域醫院外科任職，不願具名的Ａ醫師，就是位假日飛刀手。
三、四年前，國際獵人頭公司「終於」找他到大陸醫院開刀時，他一點都不驚訝。外科界早就知道，獵人頭公司瘋狂找台灣醫師。
他固定週五一早飛到大陸看診，六、日密集開刀，週日晚上或週一一早，再飛回台灣，進醫院上班。
「我們醫界的行話，叫『飛刀』，」Ａ醫師說，光是他知道的台灣假日飛刀手，至少有上百位。
台灣有六千四百多位外科醫師，出走一百多個，表面上影響不大，但實際上正蠶食著醫療根基。因為，他們是戰力堅強的中生代。
這群假日飛刀手，大約四十歲上下，來自骨科、一般外科、心臟外科、神經外科、婦產科等外科系，他們不見得有名氣，「但業界知道，那個人是開刀的真正好手，」Ａ醫師指出。
「大江南北，你想像不到的地方，都有人去，愈偏遠的地方，愈喜歡找台灣醫師，」Ａ醫師說。最近華航直飛烏魯木齊，一開航就有台灣醫師飛去新疆開刀。
除了假日到大陸兼差，還有一些外科醫師，甚至離開台灣工作，在大陸展開第二人生。
醫師西進，攸關台灣民眾生命健康
醫療是科學與藝術的結合，一個有經驗的醫師，至少需要十幾年的淬煉與投資。這樣的人力出走，已傷害全民福祉。
一旦愈來愈多醫師到大陸行醫，留在台灣的醫師，工作負荷勢必雪上加霜，開啟醫療環境與品質進一步惡化的負循環。
為了確保二千三百四十萬人的福祉，為了不讓「找不到醫生」的故事真的在台灣上演，醫療環境、健保制度一定要改。（完整系列報導，請見最新出刊528期天下雜誌）
If completed, the project would be a literal and figurative bridge between the mainland and Taiwan and would mark a major milestone in cross-strait relations.
However, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the island’s top cross-strait policy planning body, told the South China Morning Post the project had been “unilaterally worked out by mainland authorities”.
[1]“Based on national security concerns and cross-strait interactions, we have not planned anything with such high political sensitivity and complexity,” the council said, spelling out the island’s political and security concerns.
The mainland’s State Council approved the National Highway Network Plan (2013-30) in June after it was proposed by the transport ministry, according to state media.
The China Daily reported last week that one of the proposed highways would start from Beijing and pass through Tianjin , Hebei , Shandong , Jiangsu , Anhui , Zhejiang and Fujian . Another highway would start in Chengdu and pass through Hunan , Jiangxi and Fujian before crossing the strait and ending in Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan.
It was unclear whether a bridge or undersea tunnel would be built to span the strait, but some analysts said a tunnel would be a better option. The proposal reportedly claims a 122-kilometre tunnel between Pingtan county, Fuzhou , and Hsinchu in northern Taiwan would provide for safe and efficient travel.
The tunnel would also be more than twice the length of the Channel Tunnel linking Britain and France – currently the world’s longest undersea tunnel.
Wu Zhiming , a tunnel expert and a professor at Tsinghua University, first came up with the cross-strait tunnel proposal in 1996. Since then, the Fujian provincial government has organised discussions and seminars, and invited experts, scholars and researchers, including some from Taiwan, to discuss the feasibility of the undertaking.
Taiwan and the mainland have been military enemies since the end of a civil war in 1949, but relations have warmed since Ma Ying-jeou became president of Taiwan in 2008 and adopted a policy of working with the mainland.
A road link between the two sides would likely not only have political implications, but it would save money on transport, compared with the high price of sea and air freights, economists said.
But what the economists dubbed a cross-strait economic zone would not come cheap. The proposal estimates that a tunnel could cost at least NT$2 trillion (HK$518 billion).
And despite the relatively warmer ties in recent years, Beijing still considers Taiwan a breakaway province that must eventually be reunified with the motherland.
This has drawn the ire of the island’s pro-independence camp, led by the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, which has rejected the proposed road link, saying it would create easier access to the island for mainland military forces.
“This is not the first time that the mainland has unilaterally worked out such a project,” said Wang Kung-yi, a professor with the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei.
“Unilateral as this may be, the mainland has to create projects like this to show that it has the ability and confidence to do so.”
In March 2009, then-railways minister Liu Zhijun proposed a cross-strait railway network linking Beijing with Taipei and Xiamen with Kaohsiung.
Wang said the DPP was opposed to such constructions, including building a bridge between Xiamen and the Taiwanese-controlled island of Quemoy, which the party fears could play into the mainland’s “reunification scheme”.
The government of Quemoy first proposed building the bridge in 2006, in a bid to increase tourism and economic exchanges with the mainland.
Ma voiced support for the bridge three months after becoming president in 2008, but he later stepped back amid mounting criticism from the pro-independence camp.
Currently, about 400,000 mainland tourists visit Quemoy every year, and the Quemoy government predicts that number would grow threefold if the bridge were constructed.
台灣病人，找不到權威醫師看病、開刀的現象，已拉起警報。台灣醫院最缺的外科、婦產科醫師，大陸正夯。對岸高薪挖角，愈來愈多醫生登陸賺人民幣，變身「假日飛刀手」。台灣為什麼留不住好醫生？該如何挽救缺醫師、醫生外流造成的醫療崩壞？
這是個你不能不知道的故事。
故事的主角是醫生。兩千三百四十萬台灣人，其中包括你和我，都是不能沒有主角的演員。故事的主題：白色巨塔，悄悄西進。
對於醫師荒，大家已知：台灣三六八個鄉鎮，六六％沒有急診醫師；四七％沒有外科醫師；四三％沒有婦產科醫師；三六％沒有兒科醫師。
還有，每四個醫師中，就有一個做醫美。監委黃煌雄等人在《全民健保總體檢》中調查，更發現每年內、外、婦、兒四大專科醫師都缺額，外科平均每年短少三七％、婦科每年短少三一％。
但是，大家未知：超過上百位各大醫院外科、婦科好手，長期或幾乎每週西進，在中國大陸默默行醫。這會不會成為壓垮台灣醫療的最後一根稻草？
《天下》記者跟著台灣醫師的腳步，飛往北京、上海多家醫院診所，實地調查採訪，揭開這波攸關台灣民眾生命健康的醫師遷徙潮。
台灣病人 找不到權威醫師
北部一家區域醫院的耳鼻喉科醫師，想把一位有嚴重斜視的病人，轉診給退休後到診所兼職、師輩級的眼科權威看，卻一直找不到這位老師。
他後來才知道，老師大半時間在大陸行醫，他只能利用老師短暫回台的時段，幫病人卡時間。
「台灣病人好可憐，都不知道醫生已經跑到大陸去了，」他在驚訝之餘，還有些許感傷。
從台灣飛往北京、上海、廈門，甚至蘭州、烏魯木齊的直航班機上，白袍醫師加入台商、台幹、會計師、律師行列，成為最新一波西進浪潮的弄潮兒。
六月下旬，兩岸簽署服務貿易協議，全面開放台灣與大陸合資或獨資在大陸設立醫院。前衛生署長楊志良看到新聞，有點焦急。他告訴《天下》，政府要提防中資醫院以高薪挖角，造成醫師荒的台灣，醫療人力又外流。
外科高手 變身「假日飛刀手」
事實上，台灣醫師早已開始流向大陸。尤其是兩岸都嚴重不足的外科高手，有許多人是每個週末飛到對岸開刀。
他們被稱為「假日飛刀手」。
故事的主角是醫生。兩千三百四十萬台灣人，其中包括你和我，都是不能沒有主角的演員。故事的主題：白色巨塔，悄悄西進。
對於醫師荒，大家已知：台灣三六八個鄉鎮，六六％沒有急診醫師；四七％沒有外科醫師；四三％沒有婦產科醫師；三六％沒有兒科醫師。
還有，每四個醫師中，就有一個做醫美。監委黃煌雄等人在《全民健保總體檢》中調查，更發現每年內、外、婦、兒四大專科醫師都缺額，外科平均每年短少三七％、婦科每年短少三一％。
但是，大家未知：超過上百位各大醫院外科、婦科好手，長期或幾乎每週西進，在中國大陸默默行醫。這會不會成為壓垮台灣醫療的最後一根稻草？
《天下》記者跟著台灣醫師的腳步，飛往北京、上海多家醫院診所，實地調查採訪，揭開這波攸關台灣民眾生命健康的醫師遷徙潮。
台灣病人 找不到權威醫師
北部一家區域醫院的耳鼻喉科醫師，想把一位有嚴重斜視的病人，轉診給退休後到診所兼職、師輩級的眼科權威看，卻一直找不到這位老師。
他後來才知道，老師大半時間在大陸行醫，他只能利用老師短暫回台的時段，幫病人卡時間。
「台灣病人好可憐，都不知道醫生已經跑到大陸去了，」他在驚訝之餘，還有些許感傷。
從台灣飛往北京、上海、廈門，甚至蘭州、烏魯木齊的直航班機上，白袍醫師加入台商、台幹、會計師、律師行列，成為最新一波西進浪潮的弄潮兒。
六月下旬，兩岸簽署服務貿易協議，全面開放台灣與大陸合資或獨資在大陸設立醫院。前衛生署長楊志良看到新聞，有點焦急。他告訴《天下》，政府要提防中資醫院以高薪挖角，造成醫師荒的台灣，醫療人力又外流。
外科高手 變身「假日飛刀手」
事實上，台灣醫師早已開始流向大陸。尤其是兩岸都嚴重不足的外科高手，有許多人是每個週末飛到對岸開刀。
他們被稱為「假日飛刀手」。
四十多歲、在區域醫院外科任職，不願具名的Ａ醫師，就是位假日飛刀手。
三、四年前，國際獵人頭公司「終於」找他到大陸醫院開刀時，他一點都不驚訝。外科界早就知道，獵人頭公司瘋狂找台灣醫師。
他固定週五一早飛到大陸看診，六、日密集開刀，週日晚上或週一一早，再飛回台灣，進醫院上班。
「我們醫界的行話，叫『飛刀』，」Ａ醫師說，光是他知道的台灣假日飛刀手，至少有上百位。
台灣有六千四百多位外科醫師，出走一百多個，表面上影響不大，但實際上正蠶食著醫療根基。因為，他們是戰力堅強的中生代。
這群假日飛刀手，大約四十歲上下，來自骨科、一般外科、心臟外科、神經外科、婦產科等外科系，他們不見得有名氣，「但業界知道，那個人是開刀的真正好手，」Ａ醫師指出。
「大江南北，你想像不到的地方，都有人去，愈偏遠的地方，愈喜歡找台灣醫師，」Ａ醫師說。最近華航直飛烏魯木齊，一開航就有台灣醫師飛去新疆開刀。
除了假日到大陸兼差，還有一些外科醫師，甚至離開台灣工作，在大陸展開第二人生。
醫師西進，攸關台灣民眾生命健康
醫療是科學與藝術的結合，一個有經驗的醫師，至少需要十幾年的淬煉與投資。這樣的人力出走，已傷害全民福祉。
一旦愈來愈多醫師到大陸行醫，留在台灣的醫師，工作負荷勢必雪上加霜，開啟醫療環境與品質進一步惡化的負循環。
為了確保二千三百四十萬人的福祉，為了不讓「找不到醫生」的故事真的在台灣上演，醫療環境、健保制度一定要改。（完整系列報導，請見最新出刊528期天下雜誌）
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