A Bumpy Boat Ride : President Chen opens direct links to the mainland.(Taiwan's president Chen opens link to China)(Brief Article)

After 50 years of hostilities, no one expected a peace voyage to be easy. But for the handful of Taiwanese officials making the first legal, direct crossing of the Taiwan Strait in modern times, just getting started was a nightmare. The site of the first launch (there were two that day) was the heavily fortified island of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, a rocky knoll two kilometers off the coast of China. Until now, Quemoy has served as the front line of Taiwan's defense. But last Tuesday, the scene at the island's waterfront was anything but militaristic: scaffolding cluttered the pier, steamrollers lurched over fresh tar for a new road and schoolchildren beat drums and gongs wildly, without any idea of what they were celebrating. When the Taiwu, a passenger ferry, finally left the dock, heading for the Fujian coast, loudspeakers onboard played "Happy, Happy, Happy New Year," a Chinese song celebrating reunions. Minutes later, however, the ship returned to pick up late passengers. "Damn it," said a Taiwanese official standing on the dock. "Why do things like this always have to happen?"

Maybe the Taiwanese were reluctant to make the trip in the first place. At first blush, Taiwan's decision to open its front-line islands of Quemoy and Matsu (the site of the second launch) to direct but limited shipping links with China seemed to signal a readiness to embrace the enemy. That isn't quite the case. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian is trying to build a China policy that straddles the tall philosophical fence dividing his island and the mainland. He will not overtly rebuff unification with the communists for fear of provoking Beijing. Yet he will not renounce Taiwan's de facto autonomy--or aspirations for independence--either. That's the tightrope he's trying to walk as Taiwan's new leader.

Chen's policy of ambiguity, as it has been called, angers China. Beijing perceives limited links as an attempt to forestall bolder unification moves. China accepted the Quemoy initiative mainly to prevent Chen from scoring a public-relations victory. The China Daily last week called the mini trade links "an utterly inadequate measure for boosting cross-[Taiwan] strait ties." When officials from the Taiwu landed in Xiamen, they were whisked out of sight. Television crews were banned. The mayor of Xiamen, invited for a return trip to Quemoy refused to reply. China, say Taiwanese officials, has not submitted any applications for its nationals to cross in the other direction.

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