Above: The Taiwan authorities are still unwilling to fully resume direct flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, which has caused serious inconvenience to people on both sides of the Straits. The picture shows cross-strait direct flights from the mainland to Taipei. " Data pictures; Below: The KMT public opinion representative delegation said on the 29th that the mainland trip had yielded fruitful results and helped promote cross-strait exchanges\ China News Agency

"I hope to resume the opening of 30 mainland destinations, including Tianjin, as soon as possible. The Taiwan authorities should comply with the public opinion and rationally measure the actual needs of Taiwan compatriots, which is the most concerned and expected thing of millions of our compatriots working and living in the mainland at present. Don't let our way home become an embarrassment again!" Liang Zhoufu, a Taiwan professor at Nanning Normal University, said to Ta Kung Pao, Since Taiwan has not yet recovered direct flights to Nanning and other destinations, every time he goes to and from Taiwan, his journey is quite tortuous and he suffers from heavy traffic. "My colleagues and I miss the previous direct flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, and hope that the Taiwan authorities will resume direct flights across the Straits as soon as possible."

The Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Administration recently announced that they would urge Taiwan to resume direct cross-strait passenger transport by sea and expand and resume direct cross-strait air passenger transport to mainland destinations through the existing contact channels agreed by the two sessions. Zhu Fenglian, spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China, said on the same day that the direct navigation between the two sides of the Straits has greatly facilitated people's exchanges across the Straits and played an important role in promoting the common interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits. Since last year, as the epidemic prevention and control has entered a new stage, we have responded to the mainstream public opinion of Taiwan compatriots that they want peace, development, exchanges and cooperation, and actively promoted the resumption of direct air and sea flights and "small three links" across the Taiwan Straits. Although the number of direct air passenger flights and traffic volume between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits has increased compared with that during the epidemic period, it is still inconvenient to travel between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits as a whole due to the limited destinations, and the direct sea passenger flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have not yet resumed.

Zhu Fenglian said that people on both sides of the Straits have a strong voice for the full resumption of direct air and sea flights on both sides of the Straits. It is hoped that Taiwan will fully consider the demands of the people and shipping enterprises on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, fully resume the direct maritime passenger flights across the Taiwan Straits as soon as possible, including Pingtan Taipei, Pingtan Taichung, Xiamen Taichung, Xiamen Keelung, and Zhejiang Damaiyu Keelung routes, and resume the direct air passenger flights between 30 mainland destinations such as Tianjin and Taiwan.

"Aircraft to high-speed rail" is time-consuming and expensive

The DPP authorities have been reluctant to fully restore the direct shipping points across the Taiwan Straits, causing serious inconvenience to Taiwan compatriots on the mainland. Liang Zhoufu, a Taiwan compatriot, has been teaching at the School of Environment and Life Sciences of Nanning Normal University since 2019. He said that before the COVID-19 epidemic, almost every month he took cross-strait direct flights back to Taiwan in Nanning to visit his family, and the price of each round trip was about 1200 to 1700 yuan. "It was really convenient at that time. I relaxed my suitcase and went to the airport. In the afternoon, I took a plane. After landing at Kaohsiung Airport in Taiwan for more than two hours, I took the MRT for 25 minutes. In the evening, I could have a reunion dinner at Kaohsiung's home. But now it's just unbearable."

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, the DPP authorities have significantly reduced the number of direct flights between the two sides of the Straits on the pretext of "epidemic prevention", leaving only four direct flights in Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Chengdu. Last year, 10 direct flights were added and restored in Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Ningbo and Zhengzhou, but more than 40 direct flights have not yet been restored, This includes Nanning. This made the journey of Liangzhoufu, who worked in Nanning, to and from the two sides of the Taiwan Straits quite tortuous.

Liang Zhoufu said that it was very hard to return to Nanning from Kaohsiung after the Spring Festival this year. First, I took the flight from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong, and then I got off the plane with large bags and small bags to cross the customs. Then I went to the West Kowloon High Speed Railway Station in Hong Kong, and took the high-speed railway from West Kowloon to Nanning in Hong Kong. In the past, you only need to take a plane from Kaohsiung to Nanning directly. Now it is a flight to high-speed rail, which not only costs more but also wastes time. "When will this road to and from the two sides of the Taiwan Straits be unblocked?" Liang Zhoufu said that the DPP authorities should not sacrifice the well-being of Taiwan's people for the sake of the one party ideology, and hoped that the authorities would restore more direct flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits as soon as possible.

"2.5 hour voyage" becomes "one day"

Huang Junwei, a young Taiwanese living in Yanzhou, Jinan, Shandong Province, also suffered from fatigue. "I would first drive from Yanzhou to Qufu, then take the high-speed railway from Qufu East to Shanghai, and finally fly to Taiwan from Shanghai Pudong Airport. Before the COVID-19 epidemic, I could fly directly from Jinan to Taiwan. However, during the epidemic, the Taiwan authorities unilaterally cancelled Jinan and other direct flights, which have not been recovered."

Yang Zhe'an, a young Taiwanese from Pingtan, Fujian Province, also had a hard time returning to Taiwan. On the evening of April 28, he first drove from Pingtan to Xiamen, stayed in Xiamen for one night, and then took a flight back to Taiwan on the morning of April 29. In the past, you could reach Taipei directly by boat in Pingtan, but the DPP authorities are still unwilling to resume the direct sea voyage from Pingtan to Taipei, making his journey a tortuous one. Yang Zhe'an said that before that, he often took a boat in Pingtan to Taipei, which was fast and safe, with high price performance ratio. The voyage only took about 2.5 hours, but it could go back and forth on the same day. But now the direct flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have not been fully restored, making it extremely inconvenient for people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to travel.