BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Wednesday issued a document on China's policy on direct links in mail, transport and trade across the Taiwan Straits.

    Following is the full text of the document, titled "Actively and Realistically Promote 'Three Direct Links' Across the Taiwan Straits by Reliance on the People and in the Interests of the People":

    Foreword

    Owing to the military confrontation across the Taiwan Straits in the past 30 years or more since 1949, people-to-people contacts and direct links in mail, transport and trade between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits were totally suspended, resulting in total division between the compatriots across the Straits. On New Year's Day 1979, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) issued a message to compatriots in Taiwan. In a bid to make it easier for family members, relatives and friends of compatriots on both sidesof the Straits to visit each other, to communicate, travel, and develop economic, cultural and other ties, the message initiated aproposal for "starting postal and air and shipping services acrossthe Straits as soon as possible," and "developing trade, supplyingeach other's needs, and conducting economic exchanges." The mainland has since spared no effort in forging direct links in mail, transport and trade (hereinafter referred to as the "three direct links," or "three links") across the Straits. In November 1987, the Taiwan authorities made the decision to permit Taiwan compatriots to visit their relatives on the mainland, which was welcomed by the mainland and ended the 38-year-long severance between the two sides of the Straits. People-to-people contacts and economic and cultural exchanges across the Straits have since made development, and thus accelerated the progress of the "three direct links." Such contacts and exchanges have made much headway in the past dozen years. But, to our regret, the cross-Straits "three links" remains in an indirect, one-way and partial state dueto restrictions and obstructions imposed by the Taiwan authorities.An early realization of direct, two-way and complete "three links"will be in the immediate and fundamental interests of people on both sides of the Straits. We hope that compatriots on both sides will make concerted efforts and actively and realistically promotethe "three direct links" across the Straits, so as to bring benefits to our posterity.

    I. The Status Quo of the "Three Direct Links" Across the Straits and the Problems to Be Solved

    1. Progress of the "Three Direct Links"

    Under strong demand from compatriots, and due to negotiations and efforts by business circles, on both sides of the Straits, the "three direct links" have started from scratch and progressed to varying degrees.

    (1) Postal Link Mail Service

    The mainland formally launched ordinary and registered mail services with Taiwan in 1979. In 1989 inter-Straits direct postal parcel delivery was established via Hong Kong. In April 1993, the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits(ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) signed the Agreement on Inquisition and Compensation of RegisteredLetters Across the Straits. Registered letter service hence went into formal operation across the Straits.

    Telecommunication Service

    In 1979, the mainland started telegraph and telephone services with Taiwan. In 1989, Taiwan opened telegraph and telephone services with the mainland via a third place. In 1996, China Telecom and the Taiwan-based Chunghwa Telecom set up direct telecom business ties. And direct telecommunication channels across the Straits were set up through Sino-American, Eurasian andAsia-Pacific seabed optical cables constructed in 1999 and 2000. The telecommunication departments of both sides have launched mutual telephone, data communication, mobile phone roaming and videophone services. Cross-Straits telecom business has been booming, accounting for the largest and second-largest shares of the overseas telecom business of Taiwan and the mainland, respectively.