The new aviation accord between Taiwan and Hong Kong will fully reflect the general market demand and provide convenience for passengers traveling between the two destinations, a senior official said yesterday.
Chen Ming-tong (
The two sides met in Taipei Monday for the first formal round of talks on the renewal of their existing air accord which will expire at the end of June this year.
"During the first round of talks, we presented recommendations on the framework of the new agreement and future traffic volume," Chen explained, adding that "the Hong Kong delegation took the package of recommendations back with them for further study."
Chen said the .negotiations have proceeded smoothly so far. "We have set the dates for the next round of talks and we are confident that we will be able to strike a final deal before the current pact expires," he said. But he didn't divulge when the second round of talks will start.
The existing five-year Taiwan-Hong Kong air pact was signed June 12, 1996, by the four airlines which ply the Taiwan-Hong Kong route -- namely Taiwan's China Airlines and EVA Airways, and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragon Airlines.
Before the accord expired last June, the MAC proposed official involvement in negotiations for a new pact. The Hong Kong authorities, however, rejected the proposal. In the end, the old accord was twice extended, the second time to the end of this June.
After long consideration, Hong Kong finally agreed to the MAC's proposal that the new agreement follow the formula set forth in the current Taiwan-Macau aviation pact which was signed by the Taiwan Airlines Association (TAA) and Air Macau on behalf of the respective sides.
Cathay and Dragon Air representatives held the first formal round of talks with TAA executives in Taipei Monday, with the head of Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration also taking part in the negotiations as a TAA adviser.
At yesterday's news conference, Chen expressed "cautious optimism" about the prospects for concluding a new agreement before the deadline.
With trade and economic relations across the Taiwan Strait continuing to grow, the demand for flight services between Taiwan and Hong Kong, a major cross-strait transit stop, has been high. The four carriers now operating the lucrative air route have hoped that a new pact can be struck as early as possible to pave the way for them to operate more flights.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
RSS