Chen Yunlin Responds Positively to Premier Frank Hsieh’s August 3, 2005 Statement
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Chen Yunlin released a statement this afternoon (August 16, 2005) on the cross-strait cargo and passenger charter flights. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) indicated that it welcomed Chen’s statement, which has basically responded positively to Premier Frank Hsieh’s statement on August 3, 2005. MAC hoped that China would do what it says by commencing negotiations with Taiwan on matters related to cargo and passenger charter flights as soon as possible.
With regard to the cross-strait cargo and passenger charter flights, Taiwan has decided to authorize the Taipei Airlines Association to contact with the China Civil Aviation Association to arrange relevant negotiation matters. MAC has also completed the concrete planning of cargo and passenger charter flights with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). It was hoped that both sides could refer to the negotiation model applied in Macao to hold negotiation as soon as possible and come up with suitable arrangements.
Regarding cross-strait charter flights, both sides across the Straits should fully discuss and negotiate related issues as soon as possible and implement charter flights after a consensus is reached. The issues to be discussed cover the following topics: operating system and benefit-sharing mechanism of cross-strait cargo charter flights, content and scope of operations of charter flights during important festivals and of more extensive passenger charter flights, and implementation timetable of the cargo and passenger charter flights.