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The China Civil Aviation Association (CCAA) Tuesday delivered an open letter to the heads of the associations of Taiwan-invested enterprises on the Chinese mainland, briefing them on the mainland's suggestions for cross-straits charter flights during the coming Spring Festival.
The association says in the letter that the air services of both sides of the Taiwan Straits should arrange two-way and non-stop flights so as to better meet the needs of Taiwan business people who want to fly back to Taiwan to spend the festival, and the two sides should negotiate the technological and business details to reach an agreement.
The association says two-way and non-stop flights are not only in line with business principles, they can also save time and reduce costs, which is in the common interests of the two sides.
However, the fact that the Taiwan authorities negated the "1992 common understanding" has resulted in a deadlock for the negotiation between the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), and consequently hindered transportation exchanges across the straits, the letter says.
It is disappointing that the related departments in Taiwan still demand that airliners should fly via a third place and put the resumption of negotiation between ARATS and SEF as a prerequisite for two-way flights. The Taiwan authorities are interfering in the charter flight arrangement out of political motives, the letter says.
On December 31, 2003, the mainland announced that it would allow one-way and non-stop flights from Taipei and Kaohsiung cities to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen during the 2004 Spring Festival as long as the Taiwan authorities promise a two-way flight arrangement the next time.
If the Taiwan authorities continue to delay negotiations with the mainland, the charter flights for this Spring Festival will also be delayed, the letter says, urging the related departments to speed up cooperation in this respect.
The mainland side has arranged flights to Taiwan via Hong Kong and Macao. The flights will be operated by mainland airliners, which will stop over in Hong Kong or Macao, where Taiwan airliners will take the passengers and fly back to Taiwan, or the flights may be operated directly by airliners from Dragon Air or Air Macao, so that the passengers will not have to change planes.
So far, airline companies from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have arranged for a total of 305 flights between the mainland and Tasiwan, with about 30,000 seats for Taiwan business people.


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