"We welcome cross-strait flights during the [Lunar] New Year holiday period. We believe improving cross-strait economic ties, including cross-strait flights, serves the interest of both Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, and is conducive to peace and security in the region," State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said in response to a question asked during a daily press briefing.
The Taiwanese businesspeople and their family members who had taken the flights yesterday also praised the flights, saying they were cheaper and faster. Samuel Kuo (郭山輝), Chairman of the Taiwan Businessmen Association of Dongguan, went so far as to say that the chartered flights were "a small step for taishang, a giant leap for mankind." Several others expressed hope that the three links between Taiwan and China could be inaugurated as soon as possible.
Several members of the association had taken the first flight into Taipei only to stay for lunch, as they had to return to work. The exuberant association members were decked out in specially designed commemorative vests and baseball caps, which they asked cabin crew and officials to sign.
The celebratory atmosphere was only marred by questions about the verification of passengers' identity. While only verified taishang and their immediate family members were supposed to be allowed on the flights, a woman surnamed Sung, along with two children and a Filipino nanny, yesterday boarded an EVA Airways flight to Beijing.
According to Sung, her husband in Beijing is not Taiwanese. The MAC said that it will follow up on the incident, admitting that verification of the identity of passengers flying to Beijing was a little rushed. He said that Sung was related to a taishang working in Beijing.
Chiu and Chang also responded to speculation about the arrival of the Air China flight almost one hour ahead of schedule yesterday morning, saying that wind direction and air traffic in Hong Kong's airspace were possible explanations for the early arrival.
RSS