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End of 'harrowing experience'

By Cao Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-16 07:56

SHANGHAI -- Hong Kong, Macao, Tokyo, Chejudo, Ryukyu Islands, Manila. Li Maosheng didn't expect to visit these places but had to because he had to transfer flights there on way from the mainland to Taiwan or vice versa.

Traveling between Shanghai, where he set up a plastic glove-making venture in 1994, and Taipei used to be a harrowing experience for him. To make matters worse, he had to spend more money and time.

The chairman of Shanghai Sunmax Enterprise yesterday said he was stranded several times in Hong Kong because of typhoons.

Once when his factory in Taiwan caught fire he could not reach it till late evening because he had to fly from Shanghai to Taiwan through a third place. "You cannot imagine how worried I was," he said.

Many Taiwan compatriots have had a similar experience. Li Zhichun, who set up his business on the mainland in 1989, said once he had to sleep at Hong Kong airport because he missed the connecting flight to Taipei. "The chair was so hard that I couldn't sleep at all," the chairman of Farglory Group recalled.

Things improved somewhat after cross-Straits chartered flights started in 2003. People across the Straits spent less time because they didn't have to transfer to other flights.

But then everyone wanted to take the chartered flights so it became difficult to book a ticket on any one of them. "So many people wanted to take the chartered flights that you could never find enough tickets," Li Maosheng said.

Even then the planes had to go through a third place, though they did not need to land.

Once Li felt extremely frustrated when he was told during a flight that Taiwan's Central Hill was not far on the left side, but the plane had to fly over Hong Kong's airspace to reach the island.

"A question struck me then: When can we have direct flights in real sense?" he said. He got his answer yesterday, when daily direct cross-Straits air services were launched, shortening travel time between Shanghai and Taipei from 144 to 82 minutes.

Both the Lis are happy now. Li Zhichun said he could have breakfast at home in Taipei, lunch in Shanghai and dinner again in Taipei.

Li Maosheng, who is also the chairman of Shanghai Association of Taiwan Businessmen Invested Enterprises, said his firm could now save 20 million yuan ($3 million) a month.

His Shanghai factory makes every seven of the 10 plastic gloves produced in China.

(China Daily 12/16/2008 page3)