China Proposes Increasing Direct Flights; Chamber of Commerce Urges Taiwan to Initiate 'Small Two Sessions' Negotiations
In response to China's proposal to increase cross-strait direct flights, Taiwan's General Chamber of Commerce is urging the government to start negotiations. The call comes amid concerns over high ticket prices and increased travel times due to significantly reduced routes, with hopes of boosting economic and tourism exchange.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 20, 2026 at 14:43
- 🔍 Collected: April 20, 2026 at 15:01 (18 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 15:43 (41 min after Collected)
Central News Agency Message
(CNA, Taipei, 20th, reporter Tseng Yun-ting) The Taiwan Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee has issued 10 measures for Taiwan, including the resumption of cross-strait direct passenger flights. Li Chi-yueh, deputy director of the Tourism Committee of the National Federation of Commerce, stated today that the significant reduction in cross-strait flight destinations has led to persistently high ticket prices and increased travel time and costs for the public. He noted that China recently sent a formal letter to Taiwan through the existing 'Small Two Sessions' mechanism, urging the Taiwanese government to promptly initiate negotiations to expand routes and destinations for the convenience of travelers and to promote tourism exchange.
According to the cross-strait air transport agreement, aviation matters between the two sides are handled through communication by the 'Civil Aviation Small Two Sessions.' The Mainland Affairs Council confirmed recently that it has received a letter from the mainland side proposing the opening of several destinations, including Urumqi and Xi'an, and that Taiwan is currently evaluating the proposal.
Hsu Shu-po, chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce, led representatives from the travel, hotel, food, pastry, fruit, and tour bus industries in a press conference today to explain their views on mainland China's recent measures towards Taiwan.
Regarding the opening of direct flights, Li Chi-yueh pointed out that the government has repeatedly expressed its hope to resume negotiations through the 'Small Two Sessions' mechanism. This time, the mainland side has formally written to Taiwan's 'Small Two Sessions,' which aligns with the interaction model expected by the Taiwanese side. He called on the government to start the talks as soon as possible.
Li Chi-yueh pointed out that before the pandemic, there were about 60 direct flight destinations across the strait. This was reduced to just 4 during the pandemic. After the pandemic, the mainland side proposed restoring them to 57 destinations via the 'Small Two Sessions,' but Taiwan currently only allows 14 cities and 15 destinations, a nearly four-fold gap compared to the peak period.
He further explained that according to statistics from the Tourism Administration, about 3.23 million Taiwanese traveled to mainland China last year, but mainland statistics show 4.89 million. The difference of 1.66 million mostly consists of people who transited through Hong Kong or Macau. Taking a round trip from Taipei to Beijing as an example, a direct flight takes only about 3 hours, but transiting through Hong Kong or Macau often takes 7 hours, showing that the lack of direct flights has significantly increased the burden on the public.
Li Chi-yueh stated that the current 15 routes generally have a load factor of over 80%. The high load factor pushes up ticket prices, creating a vicious cycle. Only by increasing destinations and flights can travel costs be effectively reduced. He also pointed out that of the approximately 500,000 visitors from mainland China to Taiwan last year, 200,000 came through the Kinmen-Matsu 'Small Three Links,' indicating that the main source of passengers on cross-strait routes is still Taiwanese residents. The current policy is actually increasing the time and financial costs for the Taiwanese people.
Hsu Shu-po also said that the 5 cities proposed for opening by the mainland side this time—Urumqi, Xi'an, Harbin, Kunming, and Lanzhou—are all tourist spots. 'Since Beijing and Shanghai can be opened, why can't cities like Kunming and Urumqi be opened?' He believes that these destinations do not pose a national security risk and therefore urges the government to seize the opportunity to break the deadlock on cross-strait direct flights. (Editor: Pan Yi-ching) 1150420
(CNA, Taipei, 20th, reporter Tseng Yun-ting) The Taiwan Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee has issued 10 measures for Taiwan, including the resumption of cross-strait direct passenger flights. Li Chi-yueh, deputy director of the Tourism Committee of the National Federation of Commerce, stated today that the significant reduction in cross-strait flight destinations has led to persistently high ticket prices and increased travel time and costs for the public. He noted that China recently sent a formal letter to Taiwan through the existing 'Small Two Sessions' mechanism, urging the Taiwanese government to promptly initiate negotiations to expand routes and destinations for the convenience of travelers and to promote tourism exchange.
According to the cross-strait air transport agreement, aviation matters between the two sides are handled through communication by the 'Civil Aviation Small Two Sessions.' The Mainland Affairs Council confirmed recently that it has received a letter from the mainland side proposing the opening of several destinations, including Urumqi and Xi'an, and that Taiwan is currently evaluating the proposal.
Hsu Shu-po, chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce, led representatives from the travel, hotel, food, pastry, fruit, and tour bus industries in a press conference today to explain their views on mainland China's recent measures towards Taiwan.
Regarding the opening of direct flights, Li Chi-yueh pointed out that the government has repeatedly expressed its hope to resume negotiations through the 'Small Two Sessions' mechanism. This time, the mainland side has formally written to Taiwan's 'Small Two Sessions,' which aligns with the interaction model expected by the Taiwanese side. He called on the government to start the talks as soon as possible.
Li Chi-yueh pointed out that before the pandemic, there were about 60 direct flight destinations across the strait. This was reduced to just 4 during the pandemic. After the pandemic, the mainland side proposed restoring them to 57 destinations via the 'Small Two Sessions,' but Taiwan currently only allows 14 cities and 15 destinations, a nearly four-fold gap compared to the peak period.
He further explained that according to statistics from the Tourism Administration, about 3.23 million Taiwanese traveled to mainland China last year, but mainland statistics show 4.89 million. The difference of 1.66 million mostly consists of people who transited through Hong Kong or Macau. Taking a round trip from Taipei to Beijing as an example, a direct flight takes only about 3 hours, but transiting through Hong Kong or Macau often takes 7 hours, showing that the lack of direct flights has significantly increased the burden on the public.
Li Chi-yueh stated that the current 15 routes generally have a load factor of over 80%. The high load factor pushes up ticket prices, creating a vicious cycle. Only by increasing destinations and flights can travel costs be effectively reduced. He also pointed out that of the approximately 500,000 visitors from mainland China to Taiwan last year, 200,000 came through the Kinmen-Matsu 'Small Three Links,' indicating that the main source of passengers on cross-strait routes is still Taiwanese residents. The current policy is actually increasing the time and financial costs for the Taiwanese people.
Hsu Shu-po also said that the 5 cities proposed for opening by the mainland side this time—Urumqi, Xi'an, Harbin, Kunming, and Lanzhou—are all tourist spots. 'Since Beijing and Shanghai can be opened, why can't cities like Kunming and Urumqi be opened?' He believes that these destinations do not pose a national security risk and therefore urges the government to seize the opportunity to break the deadlock on cross-strait direct flights. (Editor: Pan Yi-ching) 1150420