Following China's insistence on further negotiations last week over proposed indirect Lunar New Year charter flights between Shanghai and Taiwan, more Taiwanese traders have chosen to travel back to Taiwan via Kinmen under the small three links agreement, according to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).
Up to yesterday, more than 15,000 traders had registered to travel via the ferry service between Xiamen and Kinmen, while there were only 3,000 Taiwanese businesspeople registered for taking the indirect charter flights, according to Secretary-General of the SEF Shi Hwei Yow (許惠祐).
The Cabinet announced last week that it would allow airlines to file applications with both Taiwanese and Chinese authorities to operate charter flights from Jan. 26 to Feb. 10 to take Taiwanese businesspeople and their families home.
But China's Civil Aviation Administration called for non-governmental talks on technical aspects of the flights last Thursday despite initially welcoming the decision.
China's apparent change of heart has led to more uncertainties about the flights and made Taiwanese businesspeople hesitant to register their interest in them.
"We don't understand why China keeps changing its attitude on whether to hold talks or not. Indirect charter flights are intended for practical convenience and should not be manipulated in this complicated manner," Shi told reporters yesterday.
The SEF was assigned by the Mainland Affair Council (MAC) to coordinate and assist Taiwanese businesspeople and their families to take either the small three links or the indirect charter flights back to Taiwan for the Lunar New Year vacation.
But Chan Ching-chih (
But the MAC's insistence on flights via Macau and Hong Kong made the flights less convenient and therefore less attractive.
"Nobody is sure whether the indirect charter flights will actually take off," Chan said.
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