A top political adviser from east China's Fujian Province suggested yesterday that the province could provide electricity to Taiwan across the Taiwan Straits as part of its own power network to help ease resource shortages of the island.

"As Fujian has sufficient power supply capabilities, the nearest province to Taiwan could support the electricity demand of the island," said Chen Jiahua, a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

There will be no technology barrier on the issue, according to Chen, a professor at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University.

He said submarine cables could be used to transmit electricity from Fujian to Taiwan. At its widest, the Taiwan Straits is about 160 kilometres.

But he admitted that due to the current political condition in Taiwan, his idea might not come to fruition in the near future.

"However, I must express my wishes to benefit people in Taiwan and its local economy," Chen said.

Taiwan is short of electricity supplies, according to statistics provided by Chen.

Nearly 98 per cent of resources used in Taiwan were imported, sources said.

Meanwhile, Fujian has a sufficient power system, including facilities for thermal power generation, wind power generation and hydropower.

Major power groups of the mainland have their investment in Fujian. Meanwhile, there are more than 50 deepwater ports with handling ships with an capacity of more than 10,000 tons in Fujian, according to Chen.

As a province sharing the same culture as Taiwan, Fujian has long been engaged in co-operation with the island province.

(China Daily March 8, 2006)