Taiwan and China today agreed to launch direct charter passenger flights during major holidays of the year, a major development between the rivals who split amid civil war five decades ago.

China today said it had charged a reporter for a Singapore newspaper with spying for rival Taiwan, four months after detaining him.

About a million Taiwanese marched through the capital Taipei today, some carrying signs reading “Shame on China”, to express their anger over a new Chinese law that authorises an attack on the island if it moves toward formal independence.