On July 12, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission of Mainland China and the Ministry of Transport jointly issued a notice on the planning of the national highway network, in which the Fuzhou-Taipei Expressway was included in the plan, which is scheduled to be completed by 2035. Also written into the plan are two expressways entering Kinmen from Xiamen and Quanzhou respectively. According to the national highway network planning, the total planned scale of the national highway network is about 461,000 kilometers, which consists of the national expressway network and the ordinary national highway network, of which the national highway is about 162,000 kilometers (including the long-term prospect line about 8,000 kilometers), and the ordinary national highway is about 162,000 kilometers. 299,000 kilometers.

It is planned that by 2035, a modern high-quality national road network with extensive coverage, complete functions, intensive efficiency, green intelligence, safety and reliability will be basically built. Among them, the expressway plan between Fuzhou and Taipei is also listed, which is classified as part of the main line from Beijing to Taipei, and the route number is G3.

The closest distance between the mainland and Taiwan is 68 nautical miles (about 126 kilometers). The mainland end is Pingtan Island in Fuzhou, Fujian, and the Taiwan end is Nanliao Fishing Port in Hsinchu. At present, the fastest sea journey between the two places is about 2 and a half hours.

The closest distance between the mainland and Taiwan is about 68 nautical miles

Taiwanese media reported that the song "Go to Taiwan in 2035", which once became an Internet celebrity, caused heated discussions among the media and netizens on both sides of the Taiwan Strait because it depicted mainlanders going to Taiwan by high-speed rail in 2035. The report also said that the expressway from Fuzhou to Taipei has also been written into the "Planning". This G3 route starts from Beijing and will connect to Taipei via Fuzhou. In addition, the "Planning" also includes G1534 and G1533, two expressways connecting Xiamen and Quanzhou to Kinmen respectively.

"Mainland's new version of China's highway network plan, Taipei is also included in the blueprint as the final destination", Taiwan TV said, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport of the Chinese mainland released the "National Highway Network Planning" on July 12, 2022, announcing the future Ten-year road construction blueprint, in which Taipei is also designated as one of the route's terminals. According to the report, in the new version of the mainland's official highway network plan, the highway network will be composed of 7 capital radial lines, 11 north-south vertical lines, and 18 east-west horizontal lines. In addition to the above-mentioned Taipei, the radial highway from Beijing also includes Harbin, Shanghai, Lhasa, Urumqi, Kunming, Hong Kong and Macao.

According to the mainland's official route planning, the Beijing-Taipei line is scheduled to be numbered G3, starting from Beijing, passing through Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces, then entering Fujian, and finally from Fuzhou to Taipei.

In fact, apart from the Fuzhou-Taipei section, the expressway has not yet opened to traffic, and the other sections from Beijing to Fujian have been completed and opened to traffic for many years. Officials in Pingtan, Fujian have stated that after more than ten years of exploration, they have mastered the relevant landforms and structures of the Taiwan Strait, and the relevant cross-sea tunnel technology has also matured. It is believed that construction will begin soon.

Screenshot of Taiwan TV's report

On the evening of July 14, 2022, Huang Zhixian, a senior media person on the island, said: "What an exciting thing this is!" She believes that, judging from the current strength of the mainland, whether it is a submarine tunnel or a sea-crossing bridge, technology There are no problems in terms of funds and funds, but the only problem that exists is the political problem, the question of when the two sides of the strait will be unified.

Taiwan authorities have not responded to this. However, in November 2021, the song "Go to Taiwan in 2035" also appeared on the mainland's Internet, causing heated discussions on both sides of the strait. The Taiwan Affairs Office of the mainland's State Council mentioned the construction of a high-speed rail to Taiwan in its response; the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Commission claimed that this The matter involves the affairs of public power between the two sides, and the two sides of the strait have never discussed this matter, criticizing it as a wishful united front on the mainland. Although some netizens on the island were cynical about this plan, saying why it was not repaired to the White House, not to Mars, etc., but this topic has occupied the hot comment list on the island's social media in the past two days, indicating that the public is paying attention to it. degree is very high.

In fact, it is not the first time that Taipei has appeared in the concept of China's transportation network. As early as in the "National Expressway Network Planning" in 2004, one of the seven radial expressways in Beijing was planned to cross the sea to Taipei. In 2011, several railway planning proposals also listed the railway from Fuzhou to Taiwan as a planning and research section. As for the Beijing-Taiwan Expressway, it has long been the route of choice for people in Beijing, Hebei, Shandong and other places.

But every time such news is announced, it will cause a heated discussion. Taiwanese media have commented that this is because there is a "political declaration that cannot be ignored". Comments said that the realization of the cross-sea bridge is a technical and economic issue, but this plan is a serious political declaration. Although it may not be realized, it can show the people on both sides of the strait that the mainland has a strong desire to unify Taiwan. "What really touches the sensitive nerves of the people on both sides of the strait is not the technical issue of whether this cross-sea bridge is to be built or built, but that it implicitly hints at the timetable for the reunification of the two sides of the strait," the commentary said.

Photo provided by Taiwan media: The Beijing-Taiwan Expressway from Beijing ends at Pingtan, Fujian, and forms a broken head. The mainland calls this a reserved opening for the passage across the Taiwan Strait.Editor/Ma Xue