Direct Flights and

Shipping Between

Mainland and Taiwan

Daily direct flights and regular shipping routes resumed at the end of 2008 between the mainland and Taiwan after a 59-year hiatus. There are now 54 direct flights across the Taiwan Strait every week, and ships and mail deliveries no longer have to detour to a third port. Taiwan expressed the hope that a warmer relationship with the mainland would help it to become Asias financial center and transportation pivot. The province also looks forward to attracting more mainland tourists and investment from Taiwan and foreign businesspeople that are operating on the mainland.

Qinghai Song and Dance Epic

Mythical Qinghai, a song and dance drama the Qinghai provincial government invested in, debuts in Beijing on February 20. It represents a new coalescence of native cultures and modern art forms. The play tells of the journey of the Western Goddess and her cortege of immortals back to the Pure Land, and in the process interprets the subtle relationship between mortals and immortals, humankind and nature. Qinghai Province is site of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers headstreams which nurtured the Chinese civilization. It is a land of splendid waters and mountains, notably Qinghai Lake, Sun and Moon Mountain and the Source of Three Rivers (Yangtze, Yellow River and Lancang), and fascinating local culture.

Farmers Paid to Restore Ecosystem

The nine-year-long campaign to restore farmland to forest has transformed approximately 27 million hectares, with the help of more than 100 million Chinese farmers. In 2007 the State Council allocated an additional RMB 210 billion to the compensation fund for farmers who have forfeited farmland to the project, increasing the total budget to RMB 430 billion. The farmland-to-forest policy was initiated in 1999 and implemented on a full scale in 2002. It encourages farmers to plant trees on farmland of a 25°or more gradient and on barren mountains. Participants receive government cash and grain subsidies.

China to Begin

RMB-Settlement in HK, Macao and ASEAN

The State Council announced in late December 2008 that in an effort to galvanize circulation, kindle consumption and bolster foreign trade it would allow tentative RMB settlement of goods transactions between Guangdong/ the Yangtze River Delta and HK/Macao, and between Guangxi/Yunnan and ASEAN. Prior to this move the central government promulgated a 14-measure package to promote economic development in Hong Kong, the most notable being the permitting of eligible companies in Hong Kong to pay for their transactions in RMB. The new policy is expected to save HK enterprises three percent in exchange commissions, thus enhancing trade ties between the special administrative region and mainland. If successful, it could mark the first step towards RMB internationalization.