Taiwan to resume flights to 23 cities in mainland China

Ten destinations, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, to have direct connections from Friday, while the others will be served by charter flights

The decision comes a month after Beijing accuses Taiwan of using Covid-19 as excuse to avoid reopening cross-strait transport links

Reading Time:2 minutes

Flights between Taiwan and mainland China will increase to 209 per week, with Taiwanese airlines operating just over half of them. Photo: CNA

Published: 8:00am, 10 Mar 2023

Taiwan will resume cross-strait flights to 23 mainland Chinese cities in a show of “goodwill” it hopes can pave the way for the restoration of official exchanges suspended by Beijing since 2016.

Ten of the destinations, including Shenzhen and Guangzhou, will have direct flights from Friday, said Chan Chih-hung, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, on Thursday.

He said the other 13 cities would be served by charter flights, and the island’s transport ministry would soon announce when these flights would resume.

Chan said the decision was made after considering various factors, including a February request by Beijing for the island to restore flights to 16 destinations in the mainland.

The needs of mainland-based Taiwanese business leaders were another major factor, he added.

“The decision is also to demonstrate our goodwill to the mainland side, in hopes that our two sides could soon resume exchanges in an orderly manner,” he said.

Beijing suspended official contacts and exchanges with Taiwan after Tsai Ing-wen was elected as the island’s president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle.

Chan said there was a need for the two sides to work together to gradually restore interactions in the post-pandemic era.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x