Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project

The Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project is a proposed undersea tunnel to connect Pingtan in Mainland China to Hsinchu in Taiwan as part of the G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway. It has seen a few academic studies from the China side, but no interest from the Taiwan side, which views such proposals as political propaganda.^[1] In addition to political factors, the project is generally not considered realistic due to technical and cost concerns.^[2]

Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project

Proposals

First proposed in 1996,^[2] the project has since been subject to a number of academic discussions, including by the China Railway Engineering Society.^[3] The route between Pingtan and Hsinchu has been proposed because of its short distance and its relative geological stability (in a region frequented by earthquakes).^[4] In 2005, an academic from the Chinese Academy of Engineering stated that the project was one of five major undersea tunnel projects under consideration for the next twenty to thirty years.^[5]

Reception in Taiwan

The project is not considered viable due to a lack of interest from the Taiwanese,^[1] staggering costs and unsolved technical problems. At nearly 150 metres (0.093 mi) m undersea, the proposed tunnel would be 6.4 times longer than the existing Seikan Tunnel (23.3 km or 14.5 mi), nearly 4 times longer than the Channel Tunnel (37.9 km or 23.5 mi) (the current longest underwater tunnel segment),^[2][5] and two-thirds longer than the proposed Bohai Strait tunnel project 90 kilometres (56 mi). In addition, Taiwan is concerned about the tunnel's potential use by China in military actions.^[1] Nonetheless, in July 2013, the Chinese State Council approved plans for the project.^[6]

The project, along with the Beijing–Taipei high-speed rail corridor, has been mocked in Taiwan.^[7]

See also

• Bohai Strait tunnel
• G3 Beijing-Taipei Expressway
• Beijing–Taipei High-Speed Rail Corridor
• G99 Taiwan Ring Expressway
• China National Highway 228 (Taiwan)
• Guangdong–Hainan railway

References

1. "Taipei says thanks but no to cross-strait tunnel plan". Taipei Times. 26 April 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2012. Taiwan has snubbed China's plan to link up the two countries with a highway or a tunnel under the Taiwan Strait, urging Beijing to be "more practical" in improving cross-Strait ties. "From the academic point of view, we can discuss this. But these `cross-Strait projects' are extremely difficult, costly and time-consuming," Mainland Affairs Council spokesman Johnnason Liu (劉德勳) told reporters on Tuesday.{...}In recent years, China has floated the idea of extending its national highway network to Taiwan by building a dam and filling in the 120km-wide Taiwan Strait, or building a tunnel under the strait. Taipei has dismissed the ideas as political propaganda and part of China's scheme to forcibly achieve China-Taiwan unification without the approval of Taiwan's people.
2. "Large basalt reef may make Taiwan Strait Tunnel come true". Whats On Xiamen. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
3. "Discussion on Options of Taiwan Strait Crossing Project and Qiongzhou Strait Crossing Project by 9 Academicians held in Luoyang, China: Several of Them Agree with Tunnel Option". China Civil Engineering Society. 26 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
4. Li, Dapeng (8 November 2005). "Feasibility of cross-Straits tunnel discussed". China Daily. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
5. "China plans to build tunnel linking Taiwan: expert". China Daily. 13 May 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
6. "Beijing moves forward on plans for tunnel to Taiwan". WantChinaTimes.com. 21 July 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
7. Pan, Jason. "Taiwanese mock Beijing-Taipei transport link". The Taipei Times. Retrieved 2 March 2021.

External links

• An Engineering Concept of the Taiwan Strait Tunnel
• Socioeconomic Impact of the Taiwan Strait Tunnel