China's Taiwan Affairs Office held its regular press briefing on March 25, with spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) outlining a series of infrastructure projects that Beijing says it could deliver for Taiwan following unification, including a round-the-island high-speed rail network, east-west high-speed rail links, and a cross-strait express corridor that would allow Taiwan residents to drive to Beijing along the Beijing–Taipei Expressway.
The remarks are the latest in a series of official statements from Beijing aimed at presenting unification as an economic and developmental benefit for Taiwan. The Taiwan Affairs Office has described these as explanations of what it calls the "seven improvements" — areas of life it claims would be enhanced after unification — a framework originally put forward by Wang Huning (王滬寧), a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, at a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of Japanese rule in Taiwan last year.
Infrastructure Promises Tied to Unification
Zhu said on March 25 that the previous week's briefing had addressed improvements to energy and resource security — one of the seven areas — and that the March 25 briefing would focus on infrastructure development.
According to Zhu, China's infrastructure network has grown substantially during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the country's total transport network now exceeding 6 million kilometers. This includes 5.49 million kilometers of roads, 165,000 kilometers of railways, and 50,400 kilometers of high-speed rail lines, which she said cover 97 percent of urban areas with populations above 500,000. Zhu cited major engineering achievements in long-span bridges, hydraulic projects, and next-generation telecommunications as evidence of China's construction capacity.
She added that under the 15th Five-Year Plan, China would accelerate the construction of a modernized infrastructure system, and that following unification, this capacity would be directed toward upgrading Taiwan's transport, agriculture, water management, and urban renewal infrastructure.
Among the specific projects mentioned, Zhu said China could help rapidly complete a round-the-island high-speed rail network in Taiwan and build additional high-speed rail lines connecting the island's eastern and western regions. She also said a cross-strait express corridor could be constructed, enabling Taiwan residents to travel from the island to Beijing via the Beijing–Taipei Expressway (京台高速鐵路), designated Route G3 in China's national expressway network — a planned route running from Dagong New Bridge in Beijing's Daxing District to Taipei, with a subsea tunnel connection between Pingtan on the mainland and Hsinchu in Taiwan.
Framing and Context
Zhu concluded by saying that peaceful unification would serve as the starting point for a comprehensive renewal of Taiwan's infrastructure, and urged Taiwan residents to pursue cross-strait unification as they would personal happiness.
Taiwan's government has not responded to the March 25 remarks. Taipei has consistently rejected Beijing's framework for unification and does not recognize the Taiwan Affairs Office as a legitimate counterpart authority.
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