The Taiwan Businesspeople Association first proposed Lunar New Year direct charter flights in October. The public and carriers all showed great interest to the program.

The Taiwan authorities approved a largely symbolic plan early this month, allowing indirect charter flights to the Chinese mainland for the coming Lunar New Year holiday starting on February 1.

However, the new rules allow only Taiwan airlines - not Chinese mainland airlines - to charter these flights and restrict their destinations to only Shanghai. The planes must also land in Hong Kong or Macao during the flights instead of directly flying across the Straits - making it nearly indistinguishable from current flights.

Despite the holdup, it is some good news for the hundreds of thousands of Taiwan compatriots who have found it troublesome over the past to get plane tickets during the Lunar New Year.

The China Civil Aviation Association welcomed the program and sent a formal invitation to its Taiwan counterpart for talks on technical issues a week ago, but so far they have received no response.

Taiwan authorities stipulate that all negotiations and agreements with the Chinese mainland should gain authorization from its "Mainland Affairs Council." The Taiwan airlines and industrial organizations have not been authorized to enter into talks with the mainland yet. Without detailed arrangements, no charter flights can take off.

The Taiwan Straits is only 160 kilometers wide. However, Taiwan authorities continue their ban on direct links across the Straits despite the 1979 proposal by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to realize the trade, postal and transport links across the Taiwan Straits in its letter to Taiwan compatriots. All trips between the mainland and Taiwan must be routed via Hong Kong, Macao or another third location.

As economic and cultural exchanges across the Straits have grown in recent years, the limited services cannot meet the increasing demand. There are about 3 million trips made every year across the Straits. The ban on direct links has caused great inconvenience and additional expenses on the traveler.

Having tried every means to block direct links across the Straits for their own political purposes, the Taiwan authorities are hardly showing that they are representing Taiwan people as they always claim to do. They should make active moves to promote the charter flight program now, and open the direct links as soon as possible.

(China Daily December 17, 2002)