China, Taiwan launch direct flights
July 4th, 2008 - 8:41 pm ICT by IANSXinhua
Beijing, July 4 (Xinhua) China and Taiwan Friday launched their direct flights across the Strait of Taiwan for the first time in fifty years, signalling improving relations. The cross-Strait weekend charter flight from mainland China landed at Taiwan’s Taoyun Airport early Friday with 258 passengers including tourists and business delegations.
The historic flight by China Southern Airlines (CSA) took off from Guangzhou, capital city of the southern province of Guangdong.
Following suit was a flight from Xiamen in the eastern province of Fujian with 203 people on board which arrived at the Songshan airport of Taipei.
Some 760 Chinese mainland tourists from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and Guangzhou took the charter flights to Taiwan, three weeks after the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation met last month.
DPA added: Taiwan also launched nine charter flights bound for China, carrying tourists, businessmen and an “inaugural delegation” consisting of local officials to China.
In Beijing, a ceremony was held prior to the departure of the cross-Strait weekend charter flights and China’s CCTV aired a special cross-strait charter flight programme to give live coverage of the launch of the charter flights and invited scholars to discuss Taipei-Beijing ties.
In Taiwan, the Tourism Bureau welcomed Chinese tourists at various airports with flowers, lion dances and firecrackers.
Xinhua
- Taiwan, China launch regular cross-strait flights - Sep 01, 2009
- Taiwan, China launch historic weekend charter flights - Jul 04, 2008
- China, Taiwan sign historic economic pact (Lead) - Jun 29, 2010
- Taiwan launches first cruise service with China - Jun 28, 2009
- China, Taiwan sign accords to boost direct travel, trade (Lead) - Nov 04, 2008
- Cross-Straits forum in China decides to go green - Jul 10, 2010
- China offers to open talks on military issues with Taiwan - Oct 14, 2010
- China's undersea tunnel opens to traffic - Apr 26, 2010
- China, Taiwan to discuss cross-Straits relations - Apr 15, 2009
- Dalai Lama wraps up Taiwan visit (Lead) - Sep 04, 2009
- Taiwan, China to launch regular flights in July - Jan 16, 2009
- China, Taiwan sign landmark economic pact - Jun 29, 2010
- Taiwan seeks F-16s to boost defence - Aug 19, 2010
- Taiwan's 'Grand' thaw with China (With Images) - Jun 30, 2010
- Signalling new ties, China sends two giant pandas to Taiwan - Dec 23, 2008
Tags: business delegations, charter flight, charter flights, china southern airlines, china taiwan, chinese tourists, direct flights, eastern province, exchange foundation, firecrackers, fujian, guangdong, lion dances, mainland china, nanjing, southern province, taiwan strait, tourism bureau, xiamen, xinhua