Hope rises in holiday flight talks
11/1/2005 7:28
A Chinese mainland official, welcoming a delegation from Taiwan to
Beijing yesterday, raised new hopes that direct cross-Strait flights can be
arranged for the upcoming Spring Festival.
"If the Taiwan authorities really
care about the interests of Taiwan compatriots, live up to their promise, are
flexible and pragmatic, Lunar New Year charter flights absolutely can be
realized," Chen Yunlin, director of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office,
told the delegation.
The cross-Strait air links have been a longstanding
point of contention between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan - an issue that
takes on special poignancy during the holiday period when people want to travel
home to be with their families.
"We propose direct, round-trip flights
between the two sides with mutual participation, and the flights can go to
several places in China's mainland," said Chen.
During the Lunar New Year in
2003, charter flights between Shanghai and Taipei were allowed for Taiwan
airlines. But Taipei would not allow planes to fly directly between Taiwan and
the mainland, requiring them to make token stops in Hong Kong or Macau,
lengthening a one-hour flight to about four hours.
The mainland believes the
issue can be handled by non-government cooperation, allowing the air carriers on
both sides of the Taiwan Strait to settle the matter in a practical manner, Chen
said.
The charters would be the first direct commercial flights across the
Strait since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949.
Beijing has suggested
expanding the flights to seven mainland cities this year. State officials are
willing for the flights to proceed without transit stops in Hong Kong or Macau
and for mainland airlines to be involved.
"We ask the Taiwan government to
live up to promises it made in the past regarding Lunar New Year charter
flights," said John Chang, a legislator with Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang
Party and the sole surviving grandson of late KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek.
The
Taiwan legislators held talks with aviation officials yesterday afternoon to
sort out details. Chang said he and his delegation would brief Taiwan's Mainland
Affairs Council on the results of the talks after they returned to Taiwan later
yesterday.
Air companies across the Strait have enough experience and mutual
understanding to solve any technical problems involved in non-stop charter
flights, said a senior aviation official from the mainland during the session
with the Taiwan delegates.
"We hope the Taiwan authority will stop
politicizing a business issue and make it easy for air companies from the two
sides to talk about the charter flights," said Gao Hongfeng, deputy director of
the General Administration of Civil Aviation, "The Spring Festival is coming
near and we don't have much time left."
Xinhua/Reuters
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