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NPC delegate proposes legislative power for Pingtan

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2014-03-13

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Zhou Lianqing, director of the Fujian Provincial Economic and Information Technology Commission, proposed giving Fujian Provincial People's Congress and its standing committee legislative power over the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, at the second session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) on March 7.

Zhou, who is also an NPC delegate from Fujian province, said there are three problems for the pilot zone's administrative committee. First, cross-Straits passenger and cargo transportation procedures should be simplified; second, full convertibility between RMB and NTD should be allowed in Pingtan to promote the county as an offshore financial center; finally, Pingtan should be allowed to initiate and develop its own policies, provided these policies promote communications across the Straits and facilitate development of the county's free port.

Zhou also proposed allowing Taiwan companies to register in Fujian as domestically funded companies – a move to fully open the market to Taiwan companies.

More than 100 Taiwan companies have set up factories in Pingtan, and there are many high-tech projects planned for the near future, including the Taiwan Businesspeople Entrepreneur Park. The pilot zone's administrative committee is also planning to build several communities for Taiwan people and invite them to take part in county governance.

Zhou also introduced Pingtan's advantages in transportation. Haixia, the daily ferry between Pingtan and Taipei, takes only 2.5 hours for a single trip, and after the railway and highway bridge project between Pingtan and Fuzhou is completed, it will take only 30 minutes to travel between the two regions.

Full support from the central government is another advantage for the pilot zone. Many preferential policies have been conferred on Pingtan since 2011. The most recent was the State Council's approval of Pingtan's closure as a class-A customs post.

“With all these policies, Pingtan has all the favorable conditions to speed up development,” Zhou said.

Zhou noted that in the Taiwan-related section of the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang, blood ties between people across the Straits and the prospect of peaceful reunification were both emphasized.

Hu Meidong, Sun Li, and Lai Yanxiang of China Daily Fujian Bureau contributed.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Nelly Min