Taipei Times
Date:  Oct 15, 2015
By: Shelley Shan  /  Staff reporter

Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Jian-yu (陳建宇) reiterated yesterday that allowing Chinese tourists to board transit flights in Taiwan and improving the efficiency of cross-strait flight operations are separate issues to be discussed in cross-strait negotiations.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is standing firm on this position, he told lawmakers on the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津).

There have been media reports that Beijing intends to allow Chinese tourists to transit through Taiwan on their way to a third country — in exchange for Taipei’s permission to allow Chinese airlines to fly over the midline of the Taiwan Strait.

Mainland Affairs Council Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) has said that the government would give up the opportunity of boosting transit passenger numbers in the nation’s airports rather than allow Chinese airlines to fly across the midline of the Strait.     [FULL  STORY]