China, Taiwan sign historic pact

Under the deal signed after path breaking talks, the flight service would start from July four and include 36 return flights for every weekend, from each Friday to the following Monday, unlike now with chartered flights operated only on Chinese national holidays.     

The step restores transport links snapped 59 years ago when China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949 and comes a day after both sides agreed to set up representative offices in each other's territory on the opening day of the historic talks which began yesterday in a major sign of easing of decades of tensions and hostilities.     

The flights would be divided evenly between the mainland and Taiwan airlines, state-run Xinhua news agency said.     

Negotiations on chartered freight flights would be held within three months after the weekend services start, while both sides would discuss the direct flight route "as soon as possible", it said.     

The tourism agreement that would come into effect from June 20, allows a maximum of 3,000 mainland tourists to travel to Taiwan every day, thus in effect tripling the existing number.     

The two sides have set a quota for the number of tourists according to Taiwans accommodation capacity and might be adjusted next year. The first tourist group would arrive in Taiwan on July 18, it said.