Direct flight to send sick Taiwan businessman back

NANCHANG -- An Airbus aircraft flying directly from Taiwan to Nanchang in East China on Friday, carried a Taiwan businessman, who had suffered a heart attack, back for treatment.

It was the first direct flight between Taiwan and Nanchang, capital of the eastern province of Jiangxi, saving at least two hours compared with the regular route via Hong Kong, said Yu Jie, an official with the Jiangxi provincial Taiwan Affairs office.

Kuo Ching Lung, a 59-year-old senior business consultant of a chinaware company in Jiangxi, suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. He was in a critical condition and his family members in Jiangxi asked for Kuo to be sent back to Taiwan for further treatment, said Yu.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the General Administration of Civil Aviation approved the request of Taiwan-based TransAsia Airways for the direct charter flight on Thursday.

Usually, aircraft flying to the Chinese mainland from Taiwan have to stop in Hong Kong, however, direct charter flights between the mainland and the island province were launched during the traditional Chinese festivals, such as the Spring Festival, the Qingming Festival (Tomb-sweeping Day), the Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival) and the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2003.