TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A little over a year after announcing plans to build transit links connecting Taiwan and China, the communist country has forwarded detailed designs on an expressway to Taipei.
On Feb. 24, 2021, China's State Council released its "Guidelines on the National Comprehensive Transportation Network Plan," which included a highway and high-speed railway that would connect Fuzhou in China's Fujian Province to Taipei, with the date of completion for the entire network listed as 2035. On Tuesday (July 12), the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission released a similar scheme entitled the "National Highway Network Plan."
The total scale of the national highway network plan is about 461,000 kilometers, consisting of the national highway network and the national road network. Of these, the national highways would cover about 162,000 km and 299,000 km of national roads.
Beijing to Taipei route, which ends with Fuzhou to Taipei section. (National Development and Reform Commission screenshot)
The plan aims to build a "modern, high-quality national road network with extensive coverage, complete functionality, intensive efficiency, green intelligence with safety and reliability," by 2035. Included in the project is a highway that would run from Fuzhou to Taipei and would be classified as a part of the main artery from Beijing to Taipei, designated a "G3."
In addition, the plans for the road network also include two other routes, "G1533" and "G1534," with the former connecting Quanzhou to Taiwan's Kinmen and the latter tying Xiamen to Kinmen.
The shortest distance between China and Taiwan proper is 68 nautical miles or 126 km. The closest point in China is Pingtan Island in Fuzhou, while the nearest point in Taiwan is the Nanliao Fishing Harbor in Hsinchu City.
Plans for highways from Quanzhou and Xiamen to Kinmen. (National Development and Reform Commission screenshot)
At present, the swiftest journey by sea between the two locations takes about two and a half hours.
This plan is not likely to be well-received in Taiwan as the previous project was panned as propaganda and likened to a "science fiction novel." Beyond the massive cost and monumental logistical issues, such a project would require the approval of Taiwan's government, which would be highly unlikely given the impact such routes would have on the country's sovereignty and security.
