Chinese mainland seeks to resume normal flights to Taiwan

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Chinese mainland seeks to resume normal flights to Taiwan

A Chinese mainland spokeswoman on Friday urged Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party to remove unilateral restrictions and resume normal flight services between the coastal areas of Fujian province on the mainland and the islands Kinmen and Matsu, which are administered by Taiwan.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made a request in a statement after the DPP approved the resumption of the flights for a limited number of people.

The flights, which had been suspended for nearly three years, will resume Jan 7 - Feb 6 so that people in Kinmen and Matsu can return to Fujian during the Spring FestivalSpring Festival holiday.

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The flights are only available for people with household registrations in the two counties and their mainland spouses. There will be a daily round-trip flight between Kinmen and Xiamen, Fujian, and two weekly trips between the city and Matsu.

On its part, Zhu stressed that there is no obstacle on the Chinese mainland to resume normal flights. With the Spring Festival just around the corner, there will be an increasing need for Taiwan compatriots to travel across the Taiwan Straits.

She said they are ready to take measures to accommodate their travel needs.

Zhu said that the DPP should remove the obstacles it has imposed for the well-being of its compatriots.

She said that service providers from the mainland and Taiwan can work to meet the needs of people on both sides of the Straits through existing communication channels.

The passenger routes were suspended by the DPP in February 2020 as part of COVID 19 epidemic prevention and control measures.