The Chinese mainland will work hard to promote the launching of
charter flights across the Taiwan Straits during the Spring
Festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year, and welcomes Taiwan people to
come for talks over the issue, a spokesman said Sunday.
The mainland hopes the charter flights can be operated by
airlines on both sides of the Straits in direct routes so as to
really meet the need of Taiwan businessmen doing business in the
mainland, really save their time and free them from fatigue during
the journey, and really cut the operating costs of airlines
involved, said the spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the
State Council.
It is an internal issue between Chinese across the Straits to
decide the procedures and related technical and business issues of
the charter flights, which should have been settled through the
cross-Straits negotiation mechanism, the spokesman said. "But we
cannot get the talks going because of the reason known to all," he
added.
For the benefit of the Taiwan compatriots, the mainland
suggested that airlines across the Straits communicate directly
over technical and business details concerning the charter flights
in order to reach a consensus and make arrangements for them to
operate their own flights.
"It's practical and feasible to do so," said the spokesman. "As
a matter of fact, charter flights were run in this way in the
Spring Festival of 2003, which were endorsed by the Taiwan
side."
"We have noticed that for some time the major leaders and
relevant departments of Taiwan had advocated launching direct
charter flights operated by airlines on both sides of the Straits
for the coming Spring Festival," the spokesman said.
It is the sincere hope of the mainland that "they can keep their
words" and create conditions for the chartered planes to take off
so as to the meet the strong aspirations of Taiwanese businessmen
who have had a year's hard work in the mainland to return home
smoothly for family reunion, he said.
The mainland has also noticed that some opinion leaders and
airlines executives in Taiwan have expressed their willingness to
come to the mainland for talks over the charter flights.
"We welcome them to come and are willing to exchange views with
them," said the spokesman.
(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2005)