Taiwan should resume full flight services to Fujian, mainland says

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

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

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

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

Zhu stressed that for its part, there is no obstacle on the Chinese mainland to resuming 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.

"We are ready to take measures to facilitate their travel needs," she said.

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

Through existing communication channels, service providers from the mainland and Taiwan can work to meet the needs of people on both sides of the Straits, she said.

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