Mainland, Taiwan resume direct postal links

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 12-15-2008 14:46

For the first time since 1949, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have begun direct postal services. A ceremony was held at Beijing Capital International Airport on Monday morning, marking the launch of direct cross straits postal services. Representatives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait witnessed the historic moment.

A ceremony was held at Beijing Capital International Airport  on Monday morning, marking the launch of direct cross straits  postal services.

Over in Taiwan on Monday morning... on the other side of the strait... the chairman of the Taiwan-based Chunghwa Post Company, Wu Min-yu... sent a symbolic letter... to Liu Andong, the president of the China Post Corporation on the Chinese mainland.

Decades after being cut off, direct postal services between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have finally resumed. Dignitaries and guests from across the strait attended Monday morning's ceremony. As a symbolic gesture, they posted letters to Taiwan. Among the guests was 81-year-old Taiwan-born Zheng Jian... who sent out a letter to his family on the island. An array of mail services -- including letters and parcels, express mail service and postal remittances -- are now available across the strait from Monday.

The letters will now be shipped directly to Taiwan, eliminating the need for them to FIRST be shipped through a third location. For many, the benefits of a faster postal service goes beyond lower costs and faster deliveries.