Print

Mail

wiki links

Hsieh calls for flexibility in Lunar New Year flights

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday called for more flexibility in organizing charter flights for the Lunar New Year holidays to better serve Taiwanese businesspeople stranded in China because of heavy snow.

Hsieh made the remarks during a visit to Hung Chi-chang (洪奇昌), chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, a semi-official institution that handles technical and business matters with its Chinese counterpart.

Hsieh called on Taipei and Beijing to take into account whether the charter flight plan was convenient for Taiwanese businesspeople and consider extending the duration of the service and changing or adding more airports to the service.

The Mainland Affairs Council has said that this year's Lunar New Year charter flights will be implemented based on the 2006 negotiations, under which a total of 96 flights will fly between Taipei and Kaohsiung and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

The service first took place in 2003 to facilitate travel during the holiday period.

"Taiwan initially suggested that four more airports in China be included this year, but China agreed only to the four cities, citing the [original] agreement," Hung said.

Hung said the heavy snow that had stranded tens of thousands of travelers in China might be a chance for the both sides of the Strait to "make a breakthrough."

If Beijing would like to follow the "Macau Model," it might be possible to make last-minute adjustments to the airports used for the service, Hung said.

The model refers to the practice where both sides authorize representatives with government power to negotiate on issues under names acceptable to both sides.

"Despite tensions between the two sides of the Strait, humanitarian concerns should not be left behind. China should adopt a flexible way to deal with the problem if it is sincere in helping Taiwanese businesspeople avoid inconvenience," Hsieh said.
This story has been viewed 1198 times.