Chen Yunlin (R), chairman of the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kun, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), shake hands after signing the agreements on cross-Straits weekend charted flights and mainland tourists' traveling to Taiwan, in Beijing, China, June 13, 2008. [Xinhua]



Chen Yunlin (2nd R, front), chairman of Chinese mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kun (2nd L,front), chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) sign the agreements on cross-Strait weekend charted flights and mainland tourists' traveling to Taiwan, in Beijing, China, June 13, 2008. [Xinhua]

BEIJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Taiwan Friday agreed on starting weekend chartered flights across the Taiwan Strait.

Chen Yunlin, chairman of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), and Chiang Pin-kun, chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), signed a minute of talks on weekend chartered flights in Beijing.

The service, scheduled to start from July 4, will include 36 return flights for every weekend, from each Friday to the following Monday, and the number will increase according to demand, the minute said.

The flights would be divided evenly between mainland and Taiwan airlines, it said.

The mainland will first open Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Nanjing to the flights, and will gradually add Chengdu, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Dalian, Guilin and Shenzhen, and possibly more if needed.

Taiwan will have eight terminals: Taipei, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Penghu, Hualien, Kinmen and Taitung.

According to the minute, the flights from Taiwan to Shanghai will be restricted to a maximum of nine every weekend and those from the mainland to Taichung to six.

All passengers with legal passes to travel across the Strait can take the flights, the document said.

The mainland and Taiwan would start discussing the direct flight route "as soon as possible" and before that all chartered flights will have to fly over Hong Kong.

The two sides agreed that airliners will swap representative offices. Taiwan promised to allow mainland airline companies to set up offices in the island within six months. Mainland companies are allowed to send staff to prepare for the founding of offices.

Taiwan-based China Airlines has set up six offices in the mainland, according to its official website.

They also agreed to hold negotiations on chartered freight flights within three months after the weekend services start, the document said.