The promotion of cross-strait cargo and passenger charter flights is an established policy of the ROC government. Premier Frank Hsieh has made policy announcements on June 13 and August 3, 2005. In response, MAC has already commissioned the Taipei Airline Association to undertake initial contacts with China, while other agencies are working hard to facilitate discussions on related issues. At present, basic contact and communication have been established, but there are no concrete results to report. It is our hope that China will show greater sincerity by completing cargo and passenger charter flights negotiations as soon as possible.
Since experiences have been accumulated in the implementation of 2005 Lunar New Year charter flights, it is a possibility to separate Lunar New Year charter flights as a single issue in the event that negotiations on cargo and passenger charter flights are not completed before Lunar New Year 2006. The government agencies are actively making assessments and taking necessary measures regarding this possibility. This is aimed at implementing the Lunar New Year charter flights successfully. At the same time, last year’s experience will also serve as a reference for the promotion of all related arrangements.
In 2005, when representatives from Taiwan and China met in Macao, both sides were able to discuss the issue of Lunar New Year charter flights in the spirit of “putting aside disputes, laying no preconditions, expressing mutual respect and acting pragmatically, with the government taking initiative and the private sector providing assistance.” Despite different positions and considerations, both sides reached a consensus on the “two-way, reciprocal and non-stop” approach which led to the smooth implementation of the charter flights. As long as China and Taiwan can adhere to the same spirit and work together, we are confident that both sides can complete negotiations earlier on the 2006 Lunar New Year charter flights as well as cross-strait cargo and passenger charter flights with satisfactory results.