A Chinese mainland official says the time is right to establish weekend and more regular charter flights between the mainland and Taiwan, in addition to the charter flights offered during major festivals.

Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that so far all technical problems have been solved in running the cross-Strait direct charter flights.

"It is the right time to start weekend and regular charter flights and make cross-Strait cargo charter flights more convenient," Li said at a press briefing.

Direct transport links between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan were cut off after the civil war in the late 1940s.

After years of negotiations, progress has been made in re-establishing direct transportation between the mainland and Taiwan.

In 2005, airline companies on the mainland and in Taiwan began operating non-stop charter flights across the Taiwan Strait for major traditional Chinese holidays.

On June 14, 2006, the mainland-based Cross-Straits Aviation Transport Exchange Council and the Taipei Airlines Association reached a consensus on the framework of chartered flights for festivals and special cases.

Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has recently been reported as saying that cross-Strait direct flights will not be realized before 2008 due to the lack of sincerity of the mainland.

Refuting Chen's remark, Li said the mainland has made great efforts over the past two decades to realize cross-Strait charter flights despite frequent political interference from Taiwan.

Any moves attempting to obstruct direct flights go against the wishes and interests of the people across the Taiwan Strait, Li said.

Weeks ago, the mainland announced that it will open six more airports to non-stop charter flights across the Taiwan Strait to cope with rising passenger traffic during the holiday periods.

During the holidays, the mainland operates flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan. The new airports would be Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Dalian and Guilin.

All Taiwan residents, businessmen and their relatives with valid certificates are permitted to take the flights.

Source: Xinhua