Songshan, Hongqiao and Haneda: Su Tseng-chang and the Capital Airport

Songshan, Hongqiao and Haneda: Su Tseng-chang and the Capital Airport
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 3, 2010

The Democratic Progressive Party once demanded that the Songshan Airport, once in decline, be decommissioned and turned into a public park. Now however, Songshan Airport has been revitalized by direct cross-Strait flights. It will soon connect directly with Shanghai's Hongqiao, Tokyo's Haneda, and Seoul's Gimpo airports. It has been transformed into the business airport for a national capital in the East Asian economic circle. Su Tseng-chang's opposition to the DPP's "anti-Songshan Airport" line has reportedly mired him in a major showdown. His election campaign asks the question: Can Songshan Airport really be wiped off the map?

That Su Tseng-chang is mired in a major showdown means he realizes that circumstances have changed, and are not something he or the DPP can resist. After all, the Songshan Airport's current resurrection is a living reality to people traveling to and from the airport daily. Even assuming Su Tseng-chang had superhuman abilities, he could not take a bouncing baby and stuff it back into its mother's womb.

For DPP leaders, the Songshan Airport project, like so many other controversial construction projects, has been nothing more than a sword to attack their political enemies, rather than a plowshare to till the earth. When Huang Ta-chou was Taipei Mayor, the Democratic Progressive Party called for Songshan Airport's relocation. It pressured the Civil Aviation Authority to commit to relocating it within five years. When Chen Shui-bian was Taipei Mayor, he avoided the issue altogether. When Lee Ying-yuan and Frank Hsieh were running against each other for Taipei Mayor, they again campaigned for the elimination of Sung Shan Airport. They argued that since the MRT system would soon link Taoyuan Airport, Songshan Airport was no longer necessary.

Ironically, by that time, the DPP was already in power. But the Chen administration never made plans to either eliminate or preserve Songshan Airport. Instead, as the Green Camp shouted "Eliminate Songshan" at deafening volume, Chen Shui-bian embarked on a major campaign to build local airports across the island in the name of "Love for Taiwan." Today "mosquito airports" (unused airports infested with mosquitoes) can be found all over the island, the product of the "politics of wishful thinking." No trace of an MRT link to CKS Airport could be found during Chen Shui-bian's eight years in office. Chen renamed the CKS International Airport the "Taoyuan International Airport." But that did nothing to change its fortune. It merely became eight years older and shabbier. Over the years, the airport's decline has ironically become a clear reflection of our national decline.

Songshan Airport has now gotten a new lease on life. It has been the beneficiary of warming cross-Strait relations. It has also benefitted from recent changes in international airport operations. Take mainland China, South Korea, and Japan, for example. Many years ago airport noise pollution and traffic congestion forced major metropolises to build new international airports and transform existing airports into domestic airports. But more recently this rigid pattern of "one domestic airport, one international airport" for major metropolises has been shattered. Take Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport for example. In March of this year, following runway expansions and the construction of a new terminal building, it was redefined as a "regional airport." It now allows flights to select Asian cities. For one thing, it helps reduce congestion at Pudong Airport. For another it takes advantage of its proximity to the city, increasing its convenience for business travelers.

This is not the only example. The roles of Tokyo's Narita Airport and Haneda Airport have changed. For years "Narita was primarily international, Haneda was primarily domestic." But the Japanese government was shocked to discover that Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea had replaced Tokyo as Japan's major international hub. The crux of the matter is that Incheon Airport not only has a greater take off and landing capacity, it also allows direct flights to 28 cities in Japan. By contrast, Narita Airport allows direct flights to only eight cities in Japan. Travelers in Japan who wish to go abroad must first fly to Haneda. From there they must travel over an hour by car to Narita, dragging along their luggage, in order to make their connecting flight. Under the circumstances, many Japanese prefer to fly directly from their hometowns to Incheon, where they can board an international flight to any destination in the world, saving considerable waiting and transit time.

In other words, Incheon Airport's openness and dense network of international connections greatly enhance its competitiveness. For passengers in neighboring countries, Incheon Airport can provide services even more convenient than those in their home countries. Japan is not the only one threatened. So is mainland China. Tourists from Shandong traveling to the West Coast of the US can save 17 full hours by transiting through Inchon instead of through Pudong. As we can see, in order to become a competitive airport, one must establish the right conditions, and not hide behind closed doors shouting angry slogans.

Songshan will connect with Hongqiao by the middle of this month. Not only does this symbolize a closer relationship between the two sides, it also suggests Taipei may soon be upgraded to the status of an East Asian transportation hub. In retrospect, we have gotten off to a late start. In fact, we squandered over a decade of valuable time. We would like to remind the Ma administration to maintain a balance between Songshan Airport and Taoyuan Airport, We would like to remind Su Tseng-chang that he must properly define the role of Songshan Airport in his campaign appeals, since this will have a bearing on his cross-Strait and regional appeals.

松山、虹橋、羽田：蘇貞昌與首都機場
【聯合報╱社論】
2010.06.03 02:08 am

一度沒落的松山機場，曾遭民進黨要求廢掉改建公園，如今卻因兩岸直航重振活力，更將進一步與上海虹橋、東京羽田、首爾金浦等機場直接對飛，蛻變為東亞經濟圈的首都商務機場。據說，蘇貞昌正為要不要延續黨內的「反松山機場」戰線而陷入天人交戰，他的首都選戰論述，真的能把松山機場從地圖上塗銷嗎？

蘇貞昌陷入天人交戰，顯示他知道大形勢已然改變，絕非他個人或民進黨可以抵擋。畢竟，松山機場今天的「復活」，已是每天人來機往的活生生現實。蘇貞昌縱使有天大的本事，也無法把一個活潑亂跳的孩子，再塞回母親的子宮裡吧？

像許多建設爭議一樣，對民進黨而言，松山機場的議題始終是一支用來攻擊的矛，而不是拿來耕耘的鋤頭。黃大洲時代，民進黨即曾提出遷移松山機場的主張，並迫使民航局承諾五年內提出遷建計畫；隨後陳水扁出任市長，卻絕口不提此事。直到李應元和謝長廷角逐台北市長，再度發動廢松山機場的攻擊，認為桃園機場捷運即將通車，松山機場已無存在必要。

諷刺的是，當時民進黨已經執政，扁政府並未就松山機場的去留提出任何相應計畫，反而就在綠營高喊「廢松山」最喧天價響之際，陳水扁以「愛台」之名在島內大肆興建地方機場。今天全台「蚊子機場」林立，正是這種「空想政治」的產物。何況，扁任內八年，不僅中正機場捷運無影無蹤，甚至改名為「桃園國際機場」，但並未使機場改運，只是愈發顯得老態龍鍾罷了。過去多年，機場的沒落，竟然成為綜合國力衰退的明顯指標。

松山機場得以重燃生機，除了拜兩岸關係融冰之賜，其實也與近年國際間經營機場理念的轉變有關。以中韓日等國為例，幾個大都會早年都因市區機場噪音及運量不勝負荷，而覓地另建國際機場，舊機場則皆轉為國內線之用。最近幾年，這種雙機場「一主內、一主外」的呆板分工，已逐漸被打破。以上海虹橋機場為例，今年三月擴建跑道和航廈後重新定位為「區域機場」，選擇對亞洲城市定點對飛，一則疏散浦東機場的壅塞，二則利用其接近市區的優越條件，為商務旅客創造便利。

更有對比價值的例子，則是東京成田機場與羽田機場的角色變化。在「成田主國際、羽田主國內」模式運作多年後，日本政府赫然發現，南韓首爾的仁川機場已取代東京，變成了日本最主要的國際樞紐機場。其中癥結在：仁川機場不僅起降容量更大，更開放對廿八個日本城市直飛；相對的，日本僅有八個城市能直飛成田機場，旅客若要出國，需先飛到羽田，再拖著行李花一個多小時搭車到成田去轉機。在這種情況下，許多日本人寧可選擇從居住地直接飛往仁川，再從那裡轉搭國際班機前往世界各地，以省下可觀的轉乘及等待時間。

換句話說，仁川機場的開放性以及它綿密的國際連接網絡，大大提升了它的競爭能力；對鄰國旅客而言，仁川甚至比自己的國家機場還更能提供便利的服務。受到威脅的不僅是日本，中國亦然，山東旅客要前往美國西岸，從仁川轉機要比經浦東轉機足足省下十七個小時。可見，要成為有競爭力的機場，必須要先創造條件，而不是關起門在家中吶喊即可成事。

松山與虹橋月中即將對飛，不僅象徵兩地的關係更形密切，更意味著台北在東亞交通樞紐的展望也更上層樓。驀然回首，遲至今日始走出這一步，其實已耗掉了十多年的寶貴時光。此際，我們除提醒馬政府要注意松山與桃園機場的平衡，也要提醒蘇貞昌：在他的選戰論述上，必須對松山機場妥適定位；而松山機場的定位，也必將牽動其兩岸論述及區域論述。