A cross-strait charter () is a charter flight between Taiwan and mainland China, across the Taiwan Strait. After the Chinese Civil War, no direct flights were allowed between Taiwan and mainland China; this remained the case until 2003. Passengers had to transfer in a third city, such as Hong Kong, to complete their trip.
For the years 2003 and 2005, the scheme was restricted for the Chinese New Year period, so it was then called the Lunar New Year cross-strait charter () in Taiwan, and the charter for Taiwan residents () in mainland China. For these years, the scheme was restricted for Taiwanese businessmen and their family members (excluding students and tourists) who are in mainland China to travel to and from Taiwan.
In 2006, the service was opened to all residents of Taiwan for the first time. From the 2006 Mid-Autumn Festival onwards, the valid period of the agreement was expanded to four main Chinese festivals: Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and the original Chinese New Year.
In July 2008, charter flights expanded to weekends. Flight restrictions on nationalities were removed and mainland China residents as well as foreign citizens were able to take the flights.
In November 2008, flights became daily instead of only for the weekends. 108 weekly flights were established and the planes no longer had to travel through Hong Kong airspace, cutting travel times by two thirds in some cases such as flying from Taipei to Shanghai.
In April 2009, a new agreement was reached to allow cross-strait flights to become regularly scheduled instead of chartered. The cap on the flights was also raised to 270 flights per week, effective 31 August 2009. On 22 May 2010, another 100 additional weekly flights were permitted to be operated effective 14 June 2010, and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Shijiazhuang Airport were added to the list of valid destinations.
Background
There was no official contact for over 50 years between the governments of Taiwan – where the Kuomintang (KMT) had retreated and mainland China since the Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in 1949, after the Chinese Civil War. However, when the reform and opening up began welcoming foreign funds in the 1980s, mainland China sought greater contact with Taiwan. Chiang Ching-kuo refused, beginning a policy of "Three Noes". The Three Noes policy was abandoned, however, when a flight bound for Taiwan was hijacked in 1986 and Taiwan was forced to negotiate with mainland China, beginning a series of negotiations. Merchants started investing in mainland China and people visited their relatives. Air traffic between Taiwan and mainland China grew dramatically, but no direct flights were allowed. Passengers traveling to mainland China had to travel via an intermediate destination such as Hong Kong or Macau, or via South Korea and Japan. The travel time usually took more than a half day, especially during the holidays such as the Spring Festival.
In the 1990s, the government of mainland China proposed the 'three direct links' – including direct air flights between mainland China and Taiwan – to ease the travel problem. However, the Taiwanese government rejected this idea.
In 2002, Taiwan legislator John Chiang proposed that there should be special charters across the strait, and received support from the public and the aviation industry in Taiwan.
The talks The previous regime of negotiations via the Straits Exchange Foundation and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits had broken down by the time Chen Shui-bian came to office in 2000. A political impasse prevented the resumption of semi-official dialogue, because the People's Republic of China government insisted on the recognition of the one China principle or the more ambiguous 1992 consensus as the basis for the talks. By contrast, the Republic of China government under Chen Shui-bian did not recognize the one China principle and repudiated the 1992 consensus reached under the previous administration. As a result, aviation industry bodies were accredited by the respective governments to negotiate only on the technical and operational aspects of the charter flights.
The governmental bodies politically responsible for the talks were the ROC Affairs Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, led by Chen Yunlin.
From 2000 to 2008, progress of talks were often severely affected by the political climate in Taiwan. After the re-election of the Chen Shui-bian government in 2004, the talks for the 2004 Chinese New Year charter flights were aborted when the PRC government was offended by Chen's independence-leaning rhetoric talks.
Aviation industry Aviation companies operated at a large loss for the 2003 charter flights due to the fact that all passengers could only travel one-way – that is, the flights traveled with no passengers for half the journey. Moreover, due to complicated procedures set out in the talks, the aviation companies could not hold direct flights and had to travel through Hong Kong or Macau, greatly increasing their cost. Nonetheless, the aviation companies were glad to provide the services, in part due to the historical nature and also due to the possible promotional benefits from participating in the events, which were widely reported by the media.
Reaction in Taiwan and in mainland China The Pan-Blue coalition, which led the talks from Taiwan, supported the charter flights. The majority Pan-Green coalition, however, saw it as a "step towards reunification" which the Taiwanese people do not prefer and criticised the Pan-Blue coalition for holding talks with the PRC without government permission. The Taiwanese public at large, and especially the merchants who benefited the most, supported the charter flights, and the Pan-Blue coalition benefited from the positive response.
2003 Charters Time Period: 26 January to 9 February 2003 Number of flights: 16 Passengers: ROC businesspersons only Destinations: Shanghai <-> Taipei, Kaohsiung Airlines: Six Taiwanese carriers Number of Travelers: approximate 2600 Feature: One way only, with a mandatory stop-over
Events 27 October 2002: ROC legislator John Chiang proposed The Project of Mainland Taiwanese Businesspeople Returning Home, the project of "the direct charter". He said that Taiwanese airliners should be allowed to carry merchants back to Taipei at certain times, between selected airports, during the Lunar New Year. 30 October 2002: The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated their willingness to help Taiwan merchants return home. The PRC claimed the idea of equality and mutual benefit, hoping that PRC carriers could also provide services; however, the ROC government disagreed. 4 December 2002: The ROC government established regulations for allowing ROC business people to return to mainland China: Only ROC operators could fly the routes during the Chinese New Year as a charter. Flights may only originate in Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) and Kaohsiung International Airport, and may only arrive in Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport or Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Charters must have at least one stopover in either Hong Kong or Macau, with no traffic between the stopover and both Taiwan and mainland China cities. Passengers may only be merchants and their families. Between late 2002 and early 2003, six Taiwanese airlines applied to run the charters. On 26 January 2003, at 3:55am, China Airlines flight 585 operated with a Boeing 747 departed from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport of Taipei. The crew consisted of pilots Zhang Yisong and Chen Beibei on board. After a stop in Hong Kong, the aircraft landed successfully at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 8:52am, and became the first legal Taiwanese aircraft to land in mainland China for more than 54 years. On 11:15am, a China Airlines flight carrying 222 passengers took off from Pudong International Airport and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 3:40am with a short stop in Hong Kong. On the same day, TransAsia Airways flight 386, an Airbus A320, left Taipei with no passengers at 8:20, and reached Shanghai at 12:40pm via Macau. The return flight with 137 passengers departed Shanghai at 2pm, and arrived Kaohsiung at 6:15 with a stopover in Macau. On 9 February, China Airlines flight 585 was the last flight of the 2003 Lunar New Year charter services. The flight arrived with 237 travelers on board in Pudong International Airport at 11:14pm the same day.
The period of 16 charter flights occurred between 26 January and 9 February 2003.
Flight record Airlines From Shanghai to Taiwan Stop-over From Taiwan to Shanghai China Airlines 26 January Hong Kong 9 February TransAsia Airways 26 January Macau 7 February Far Eastern Air Transport 27,28,29 January(3 flights in total) Macau 5,6,7 February(3 flights in total) EVA Air 29 January Macau 8 February Uni Air 29 January Macau 8 February Mandarin Airlines 30 January Hong Kong 7 February
Flight details China Airlines (CAL) operated the first flight. Due to the one-way-only service restriction, only the crew, securities of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (ROC side), two officers of the Mainland Affairs Council, and 14 CAL staff were on board the Taipei-Shanghai section for the first flights ceremony. After coming to a complete standstill, staff at Pudong International Airport showed a large red banner with the words "" (Ardently welcome CAL's First charter flight to Shanghai). A "Lion Dance" show was held. CAL CEO Wei, Philip Hsing-Hsiung (present Chairman) and crew waved their hands in greeting when stepping out the aircraft. Due to the sensitive state and the problem on using the Taiwan Compatriot Pass, the vice secretary of the Mainland Affairs Council, Zhi-Hong Jam() did not attend the celebration but stayed in the aircraft after a short salutation. At C.K.S. International Airport, Taipei, CAL arranged a small ceremony to salute the first passengers. Then CAL Chairman Lee, Yun-Ning said "It's better to have direct flight as soon as possible. It's better to have it from tomorrow." The greeting ceremony was different in Kaohsiung. Numerous police were inside the terminal waiting for TransAsia's flight back to Kaohsiung.
2005 Charters
Time Period: 26 January to 20 February 2005 Number of flights: 48 Passengers: Mainly businesspeople, some tourists and overseas students Destinations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou <-> Taipei, Kaohsiung Airlines: Six Taiwanese carriers and six Chinese airlines Number of travelers: more than 10,000 Features: Both way available without any stopover
Events There was no charter service in 2004 for several reasons, including the ROC presidential election in which the independence-leaning Pan-Green coalition was re-elected. In December 2004, John Chiang expressed high expectations for the 2005 charter. On 2 January 2005, the spokesperson of The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council proclaimed that they do care for the accomplishment of 2005 charters. They also demanded that the services this time should be operated as round-trip, non-stop service by airlines of both side with an increased number of destinations. They suggested the civil airlines negotiate with each other on technical and operational problems. 9 January 2005: A delegation attending a conference called the Mission Animating the Tai-merchants Charters led by John Chiang arrived in Beijing. 10 January 2005: Chen Yunlin, minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office (PRC), delegate of the General Administration of Civil Aviation (PRC) met during the mission. Chen said he would urge to carry the air links into reality.