Taking the Strait Route

With hundreds of millions of holidaymakers expected to hit the road for next month's Lunar New Year celebrations, travel in Asia could be hell. But Taiwanese living in mainland China have one thing to look forward toa nonstop trip home. Under an agreement reached in Macau last weekend between China's Civil Aviation Administration and the Taipei Airlines Association, 48 round-trip charter flights will be allowed to carry passengers to Taiwan from three mainland cities. The pact marks the first nonstop trips between China and Taiwan since the Nationalists banned direct transportation links after fleeing to the island in 1949....