TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said on Wednesday night (Feb. 1) that it contacted Taiwan about potentially resuming 16 cross-strait flights.

Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) confirmed it received the message from the TAO and said the matter is "under discussion," Liberty Times reported. TAO Spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) claimed that now is a good time to resume cross-strait flights, including from Guangzhou, where there is a large concentration of Taiwanese business people. 

China attaches great importance to normal cross-strait exchanges and has made relevant preparations, she claimed.

CAA Director Lin Kuo-hsian (林國顯) said that he will deliberate the proposal with the Mainland Affairs Council and other relevant ministries and committees. Whether and when the flights will resume will not be announced until after discussions.

Taiwan already has restarted regional flights to Japan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia.