Regular direct flights between China
and Taiwan were
resumed July 4th, 2008,
after a politically effected lull of almost 60 years (since 1949) during which
only the occasional charter flights were allowed to make the cross-strait trip.
The inaugural flight, a China Southern Airbus A330 piloted
by chairman of the Chinese airline, made the journey from Guangzhou
to Taipei Taoyuan
International Airport
on July the 4th carrying about 250 passengers, many of them Chinese tourists,
who were greeted festively by lion dancers.
36 round-trip flights weekly are scheduled between the
Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Beijing,
Xiamen, Nanjing,
and Shanghai and Taiwan’s
Taipei. The current schedule of Friday to Monday commercial
flights is expected to be extended to weekdays in the near future. Along with the flights, up to 3000 Chinese
tourists daily will be allowed to visit Taiwan
beginning July 18th as part of the new deal to relax travel restrictions
between the two sides.
This historic show of warming relations between the two
Chinas is sparked in large part thanks to Taiwan’s
new President Ma Ying-jeou, who has pledged to reinvigorate Taiwan’s
economy and tourism sector since taking office in May. Negotiations between the two sides began in
June, with a focus on improving economic relations and easing up on travel
restrictions. The new regularly scheduled flights between China
and Taiwan are
expected to provide a large influx of Mainland tourists to the small island
nation, and with them a boost to its tourism industry’s bottom line.
Sources: Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC
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Beijing’s
election as the host of the 2008 Olympics has been controversial from the
start, as it seems that economic and technical advancement was a walk in the
park for China
when compared to social issues. Living
up to the Olymic Charter, which emphasizes “respect for universal
fundamental ethical principles”, and the 2008 Olympic slogan, One World,
One Dream which preaches China’s
commitment to “peaceful development, harmonious society and people's
happiness” has proved a lofty ambition.
The spotlight and scrutiny associated with the Olympics may be exactly the
kind of thing China needs to elicit change; but appeasing the international
community when it comes to political and human rights issues, pollution, and
freedom of the press, both domestic and foreign, is not such a simple task.
Pressure and criticisms from the international community
continue to mount, from major nongovernmental organizations, governments, and individuals
alike. According to the New York Times,
Spielberg said recently “that he was withdrawing from his role as the Games’
artistic adviser because he believed that Beijing
had failed to use its influence to end the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.” Seems like everyone’s taking a shot.
The president of the International Olympic Committee reminds
us in an interview with The Associated Press that “the Olympic Games are a
force for good but don't expect from the games what they cannot deliver.” Perhaps we should curb our expectations
for a quick fix, but the Olympic spotlight has at least opened this can of worms
and the pressure has hopefully made China
realize that to be a major world player it will have to keep up on all fronts.