Taiwan, China open direct transport, postal links - Update

[Adsos Letter]

Source: The Earth Times


Taipei - A Shenzhen Airlines plane from China landed at Taipei's Sungshan Airport early Monday, as the two former civil war enemies opened direct transport and postal links. The plane, which left Shenzhen airport at 7:20 am (2320 GMT) carrying 112 people, arrived at Sungshan Airport in an hour and 30 minutes, becoming the first plane from China to kick off the historic daily charter flights across the Taiwan Strait.

So far, the plane journey has taken more than four hours, under the island's earlier ban that all flights must go through a third country, usually Hong Kong.

About 50 minutes before the arrival of the Chinese airliner, a Taiwanese TransAsia Airways plane, carrying 144 passengers, took off from Sungshan Airport for Shanghai, becoming the first Taiwan flight bound for China.


Read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/246196,taiwan-china-open-direct-transport-postal-links--update.html

[FarCenter]

1. Longer story at Times of India -- ships, cargo, and passenger flights

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Taiwan_China_launch_direct_shipping_links_after_six_decades/articleshow/3838150.cms?TOI_latestnews

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The first Taiwanese ships were scheduled to leave from Kaohsiung and Keelung harbors for Chinese ports about noon Monday. Mainland companies were to sail vessels to Taiwan from Shanghai and Tianjin.

Monday also marked the start of cargo flights between the two that will number up to 60 per month, according to agreements signed Nov. 4.

Daily passenger flights also were being launched, with 16 scheduled for Monday, in an expansion of weekend charter flights inaugurated in July.

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With annual bilateral trade at about US$100 billion, Taiwanese businesses have pushed for years to end the ban on direct links across the 100-mile (160-kilometer) wide Taiwan Strait.

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[Adsos Letter]

2. Excellent, thankyou!

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