Taiwan and China to negotiate direct flights

Taiwan and China reached agreement today on temporarily lifting the island’s five-decade ban on direct flights between the two rivals during next month’s Lunar New Year holiday.

Chinese negotiator Pu Zhaozhou said the charter flights would take place from January 29 to February 29.

The flights from the Chinese mainland will originate from the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, he said.

China-bound flights from Taiwan will depart from Taipei and Kaohsiung, Pu added.

The deal would be the biggest breakthrough between Taiwan and China in years. It could produce a thaw in tensions in one of Asia’s most dangerous flashpoints.

Both Pu and Taiwanese counterpart, Billy Chang, also had expressed optimism before the negotiations began in this Chinese territory.

The Charter flights would carry hundreds of Taiwanese who work or study in China back home for the week-long New Year holiday, which begins on February 8. The celebration is the year’s biggest in ethnic Chinese societies.

Taiwanese and Chinese airlines haven’t flown direct flights since a civil war split the two sides in 1949. Taiwan has banned direct flights, citing security concerns with China, which has repeatedly threatened to attack.