When China offered 30 years ago to set up transport links with Taiwan, the island's government said no. But as China's economy grew, Taiwan wavered. On December 15th ships, aircraft and mail at last began routine daily crossings directly across the Taiwan Strait. A jubilant Chinese official declared it "the final part of our economic circle with Taiwan."rnTaiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, was no less upbeat. Since he was sworn in this May, Mr Ma has moved swiftly to mend fences. In July the two sides established weekend charter flights, albeit time-con-sumingly routed through Hong Kong's air space. Now weekday services have been added and the Hong Kong detour has been abandoned. Direct cargo flights have also been launched (60 a month initially). Andrnmail is no longer exchanged circuitously, usually via Hong Kong.
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