《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Kaohsiung mooted for ‘southbound’ launch

By Alison Hsiao / Staff reporter

Nine Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） legislators from Kaohsiung urged the government to make Kaohsiung International Airport the base of its “new southbound policy,” with Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport beset with problems apparently caused by hurried construction and passenger overload.

請繼續往下閱讀...

With Taoyuan airport encountering all sorts of problems, we should start to think about putting the airport in the south to good use, DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying （邱議瑩） said, adding that the “new southbound policy” could be started with flights going south “leaving from the south.”

“Kaohsiung International Airport can accommodate 6.09 million passengers per year, but last year the figure was only 4.86 million,” Chiu said, adding that the airport could alleviate Taoyuan airport’s load.

Chiu said it is ridiculous that people living in southern Taiwan often have to travel to Taoyuan in the north to board a flight for Southeast Asia.

“Not only do they have to leave their homes earlier, they have to spend more on transportation, such as a high-speed rail ticket, from the south to Taoyuan,” Chiu said.

“Also, China Airlines tickets from Kaohsiung to Singapore can cost more than those from Taoyuan to Singapore,” she said.

Chiu urged the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Civil Aeronautics Administration to make good use of Kaohsiung airport, “implementing the southbound policy from the south.”

DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai （陳其邁） said that about 740,000 tourists travel to Taiwan from Southeast Asia each year, a large market that could be further developed.

“Policies need to be drawn up to make southern Taiwan, including Kaohsiung, an attraction for more Southeast Asian tourists, such as inviting stars to promote tourism and increasing the number of tour guides who speak Southeast Asian languages,” Chen said.

“The government could also consider granting preferential policies for airlines to increase the number of flights and counters at Kaohsiung International Airport,” he said.

DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling （管碧玲） said the then-Japanese colonial government had constructed the Kaohsiung facility as a base for moving southward “because the city has a geo-economic advantage.”

“The Port of Kaohsiung occupies a position that has the shortest average distance to all other major ports in the Asia-Pacific region. The upside should be valued and taken advantage of,” Kuan said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES