Taiwanese airlines will be flying to China for the first time, albeit still not directly, under a plan approved in Taipei for seasonal charters. During the 16-day Chinese New Year festivities, charters will operate between Shanghai and Taiwan with a stop in Hong Kong or Macau to bring home for the holidays an estimated 300,000 Taiwanese business people and families who work in China. If these charters go smoothly, officials in Taipei say that they might be approved for other holidays.
Charters are the outgrowth of a suggestion by a Chinese official's to resolve one of the semantic quarrels that thwart talks between China and Taiwan. He proposed calling them cross-strait talks rather than international or domestic discussions.
That sparked a debate in Taiwan about direct air links, from which the charter proposal emerged. Originally it was for direct flights, but Taipei insisted that all charters fly via Hong Kong or Macau, the same stopover required for scheduled flights. One Taiwanese airline official joked that charters might satisfy this stopover requirement with "touch and gos".
But doubts remain about the charters. Chinese aviation officials have questioned why the flights need to make a stop and have called for more talks on technical issues.
In China-Taiwan relations every concession, no matter how small, is viewed as irrevocable. Hence, Taipei's willingness to allow Taiwanese airlines to fly into China is seen as a major symbolic step. Recently, Taiwan has allowed its airlines to open ticket offices in China, co-operate with Chinese airlines, and take a stake in a mainland cargo carrier.
Meanwhile, Taiwan's mainland affairs council is reviewing issues that direct flights could raise and Taiwan's legislature is considering amending its law governing affairs with China. Once these are complete, some Taiwanese officials predict talks with China about direct air links could start by June.
Source: Airline Business
