China, Taiwan sign charter flights deal
- added June 13, 2008
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Taiwan and China formally agreed to expand charter flights and tourism Friday, a day after announcing plans to set up permanent offices in each other's territory for the first time in decades of hostility.
There were few details and no time frame was given for establishing the offices, which could perform consular functions such as issuing travel documents.
Yet coming on Thursday, the first day of formal talks between the sides in a decade, the agreement lends strong momentum toward efforts to build confidence and spur cooperation between the two sides, which divided amid civil war in 1949 and whose relationship has veered between strained to outright hostile.
Foundation Deputy Secretary-General Pong Jian-kuo said the offices would "facilitate people's exchanges and traveling across the Strait."
"It's a very positive and healthy development in relations across the Taiwan Strait," said political scientist George Tsai of Taiwan's Chinese Culture University.
Tsai cautioned, however, that the offices would be limited to dealing with administrative matters and would offer little direct help in dealing with core political differences such as China's threatening missile arsenal and Taiwan's desire for diplomatic recognition overseas.
There were few details and no time frame was given for establishing the offices, which could perform consular functions such as issuing travel documents.
Yet coming on Thursday, the first day of formal talks between the sides in a decade, the agreement lends strong momentum toward efforts to build confidence and spur cooperation between the two sides, which divided amid civil war in 1949 and whose relationship has veered between strained to outright hostile.
Foundation Deputy Secretary-General Pong Jian-kuo said the offices would "facilitate people's exchanges and traveling across the Strait."
"It's a very positive and healthy development in relations across the Taiwan Strait," said political scientist George Tsai of Taiwan's Chinese Culture University.
Tsai cautioned, however, that the offices would be limited to dealing with administrative matters and would offer little direct help in dealing with core political differences such as China's threatening missile arsenal and Taiwan's desire for diplomatic recognition overseas.
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