TAIWAN: STRESS AT THE BEGINNING OF LUNAR NEW YEAR?

MICHAELA MERTZ WRITES – Lunar New Year is typically a time for celebration and relaxation, right? Not so for millions of Taiwanese citizens living in China. The current battle over air space in the Taiwan Strait, located between China and Taiwan, is to blame for the unrest.

More than 170 flights that meant to be added to support the massive amounts of travelers headed home for the holidays were cancelled, according to the New York Times. The flights that were intended to be added were supposed to be provided by the China Eastern and Xiamen Air companies. The Taiwanese government’s China policy-making council issued a statement saying that the “Civil Aeronautics Administration has mentioned the risk many times to China Eastern and Xiamen Air.” Huh? what could this mean? Officials said that with the Lunar New Year quickly approaching, there was stress in the air regarding Taiwanese citizens’ ability to make it home. Hmmm.

The Lunar New Year is important to both Taiwanese and Chinese citizens, and taking steps backward between the two countries only makes existing tensions worse. Lunar New Year took place on February the 16, according to Western calendars. Since then there have been no mid-air collisions over the strait.

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