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Article: Treasure Island; How a forgotten isle became a major port of call in the unofficial trade between the two Chinas.
- Article from:
- Newsweek International
- Article date:
- March 29, 2004
- Author:
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Byline: George Wehrfritz and Hideko Takayama
Dawn breaks on the coral-rimmed island of Ishigaki to reveal 11 foreign freighters resting at anchor offshore. Aboard a fast skiff, shipping agent Nobutaka Nasu identifies an 8,200-tonne Cyprus-flagged Chinese container ship in the lineup, scales the steel giant on a dangling rope ladder and, documents tucked in his knapsack, jogs to the bridge to meet the captain. He checks paperwork, shuttles back ashore to the local Customs office and finally clears his client for departure. By noon the ship has completed its paperwork stop in Japan and is steaming on to Shanghai, heavy with cargo from Taiwan.
Little known ...