Brief introduction to Taiwan businessmen in mainland

Source: CCTV.com | 12-15-2008 09:42

A large group that will benefit from the direct cross-Straits transport are Taiwan businesspeople on the Mainland. It's estimated about a million of them and their families are now working and living in the mainland.

Most of them are in Fujian province and economic zones in the Pearl River and Yangtze River Deltas. The Bohai Bay region is another popular location. And in recent years, they've shown increasing interest in Central and Southwest China. Previously, they mainly relied on chartered flights to go home for Spring Festival.

Statistics from China's Civil Aviation Administration show in 2003, such flights transported about 2400 Taiwan businesspeople. But service was suspended in 2004 when the Taiwan authorities would not allow return flights to the Mainland. When flights resumed in 2005, passenger numbers topped 10,000, and in 2006, they more than doubled. In 2007 and 2008, over 30,000 made the trip, when service was expanded to all Taiwan residents with legal permits.

Editor:Xiong Qu