Two cruise lines plan Taiwan Strait services

Taipei - Two international cruise lines, encouraged by Taiwan's new air links with China, plan to launch cruise services across the Taiwan Strait, it was reported Sunday. Royal Caribbean International, the world's 2nd-largest cruise company, and Star Cruises, the world's 3rd-largest cruise operator, plan to launch Taiwan-China services next March and April, the commercial Times said. Royal Caribbean International plans to use its 70,000-ton Legends of the Seas to operate six cruises, covering China's Shanghai and Taiwan's Keelung, Taichung and Hualien. Three executives from the Miami-based Royal Caribbean International have arrived in Taiwan to inspect Taiwan ports. Lu Li-ling, Royal Caribbean International's representative in Taiwan, said that in the initial stage, Royal Caribbean International was arranging for its Taiwan-Chinese cruises to pass Japan's Ishigaki islet, in line with Taiwna's ban on direct sea links with China. 'Once Taiwan removes the ban, Royal Caribbean International will apply for sailings directly from Taiwan to China and vice-versa,' she said. Star Cruises has been running summer cruises between Taiwan and Japan's Okinawa Islands since 1997. Its Taiwan manager Lu Kuan-chun said that if Taiwan lifts the ban on direct sea links with China before October, the company would schedule cruises between Taiwan and China's Shanghai and Xiamen. Once that happened, Star Cruises would shift its focus from Taiwan customers to those from mainland China. Taiwan has banned sea and air links with China since 1949 when the Republic of China government lost the Chinese Civil War and fled to Taiwan to set up its government-in-exile. China has been urging Taiwan to remove the bans to pave the way for Taiwan's unification with the mainland, but Taiwan rejected the call for national security reasons. However, under the instruction of Taiwan's new President Ma Ying- jeou, Taiwan launched weekend charter flights with China, and opened the door to Chinese tourists, on July 4. Ma hopes to extend weekend charter flights to daily charter and eventually to regular flights across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has not said when it will open sea links with China, but Ma has expressed the hope that Taiwan should fully open all links with China to improve the island's economy and to ease tension with China.