According to the Overseas Edition of People's Daily, on Friday the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China approved the application of Taiwan's Far East Air Transport Corp to operate three round-trip Taipei-Shanghai charter flights during the Chinese New Year.

For Taiwan people who will take the flights for family reunions during the period, the news is a sweet gift as the air journey will be shortened by one hour. But with the intervention of the Taiwan authority over direct flights, passengers will still have to stop over in Macao during the trip. Nonetheless, a small step forward is better than nothing at all.

To people who have wished for the opening of cross-Straits direct links, the first-ever Chinese New Year round-trip charter flights bring a renewed hope for more substantial progress that could come later this year.

In fact, the opening of direct links for trade, transport and postal services across the Taiwan Straits has become a common aspiration for Chinese on both sides of the Straits.

At present, owing to barriers set by the Taiwan authorities, cross-Straits transactions have to be conducted via a third place, which has caused huge inconvenience and heavy economic loss.

Such an undesirable situation conforms neither to the rising call of people on both sides of the Straits for reunification, nor to the new trends in cross-Straits exchanges.

Latest statistics indicate the mainland is home to more than 50,000 Taiwan-funded businesses with a total investment of over US$50 billion. From January to November last year, the cross-Straits trade volume climbed by 38 percent compared to the same period in 2001 to reach US$40.28 billion.

It is now a well recognized fact that the huge mainland market is the hope for Taiwan to inject vitality into its falling economy. The opening of direct links will serve as a bridge to facilitate smooth business transactions and personnel exchanges across the Straits.

(China Daily January 7, 2003)