Taiwan to kick off first cargo flight to China

TAIPEI, July 19: Taiwan's first non-stop cargo charter flight to China will take off for Shanghai today, taking full direct transport links a step closer between two economies divided by political strains.

China Airlines, the island's biggest airline, will be the first carrier to make the trip, which comes a month after Taiwan and China sealed a deal to allow direct charter cargo flights on a case-by-case basis.

''This is something of historical significance,'' said China Airlines' spokesman Johnson Sun.

In reality, the latest step is a small improvement over previous rules because all cargo charter flights will still have to fly via Hong Kong's airspace but now the planes don't have to land there, cutting travel time.

The journey, though, is still significantly longer than a direct route across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan banned direct air links with China after Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists, or Kuomintang, fled to the island in 1949 after being defeated by Mao Zedong's Communists.

All non-charter cargo flights between the two sides will still have to transit though a third destination, usually Hong Kong or Macau, increasing costs and flight time.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province that must be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Despite political differences, trade has flourished between the two markets and Taiwan businessmen have been hoping for direct transportation links to save costs.

Taipei and Beijing exchanged landmark non-stop passenger charter flights for the first time in over five decades during the Lunar New Year in January and February last year.

REUTERS