FAR EAST: The first direct flights between China and Taiwan since 1949 will begin operating from the end of January following a deal struck between both governments at the weekend.
The landmark agreement, which signals an easing of political tensions between China and Taiwan, will enable 48 charter flights to operate over a three-week period that coincides with the Chinese new year.
The flights will be non-stop, although they will still have to fly over Hong Kong or Macao airspace rather than the most direct route possible.
Political analysts said yesterday the initiative marked a crucial step towards building stronger ties between China and Taiwan, although the ban will resume in late February.
"This is a specific arrangement for new year charter flights, but it is also a symbol of goodwill from both sides," Mr Andrew Yang Niendzu, secretary general of the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, a private Taipei-based think tank, told the Hong Kong-based Sunday Morning Post.
Taiwan has banned direct air and shipping links with mainland China since the Nationalists lost the civil war to the Communists in 1949 and fled to the island.
This has meant that over the past 55 years travellers have had to stop off in a third destination, typically Hong Kong or Macao, before continuing on their journey.
China has threatened to invade Taiwan if it declares itself an independent sovereign state raising tensions in the region.