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TAIPEI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Hundreds of Taiwanese arrived in China on Friday to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival, the only time of the year when diplomatic rivals Taipei and Beijing permit non-stop flights across the Taiwan Strait.
The packed plane, belonging to Taiwan's China Airlines, arrived in grey, wet Shanghai at just after 10:30 a.m. for the biggest holiday in the Chinese-speaking world.
It left on the return trip to Taipei two hours later.
This year's charter flights have been expanded to allow any Taiwanese to fly, whereas last year's charters were restricted to China-based Taiwan business people and their families.
The non-stop charters that run until Feb. 7 are the closest thing to direct flights across the Taiwan Strait. The planes technically must fly through Hong Kong or Macau air space, because permanent air links have been banned since Taiwan and China split at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
China considers self-ruled Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, but business ties are booming.
"There should be direct flights between friendly countries anywhere in the world," said a Taiwanese businessmen surnamed Hsu.
"A trip that should only take one hour and now takes six, that's something no one in the world can understand," he said.
"I really wish there could be more flights to Taiwan. It's too much trouble changing flights in Macau every time," said businessman Vic Fang, waiting at Shanghai to return home to southern Taiwan.
"I would go home much more often if there were direct flights," added Tonny Shen, 37, who works in the real estate business.
Taiwan and China first arranged the holiday flights during last year's Lunar New Year holiday, a time for far-flung families to gather in the biggest migration of humanity on Earth.
Turning the once-a-year agreement into a regular service looks a long way off, however, with Taipei and Beijing failing to tackle their political differences and reach a compromise.
"Under these kinds of circumstances, we realise that in the next couple of years, we do not expect anything major to come out between Taiwan and China," said Taiwan's top policymaker for China, Joseph Wu.
CAUTION
Frustrated by Beijing's refusal to deal with his government, independence-leaning Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian signalled a tougher stance this year towards China, the island's biggest export and investment destination.
Chen told an economic delegation from South Korea on Thursday that Taiwan should be careful about opening the "three links" of direct transport, commerce and communication across the strait.
"Due to Taiwan's national security and biggest national interest, we should be more cautious about cross-strait three links," the president said.
However, Wu said the charter flights could create a more conciliatory environment and Taiwan might approach China after the Lunar New Year "to see if the Chinese position has changed".
Six airlines from each side will operate 72 flights between four Chinese cities and two Taiwan cities from Jan. 20 to Feb. 13. There are about 300,000 Taiwanese living in Shanghai alone.
The new Year of the Dog starts on Jan. 29.
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