The government of Taiwan was acutely embarrassed earlier this month when a pilot from the island's privately owned commercial airline diverted his Boeing 747 cargo jet to Canton and announced that he was defecting to mainland China. To recover the plane, Taiwan's government reluctantly authorized representatives of China Airlines to negotiate directly with the mainland's Civil Aviation Administration of China. Last week, after four days of talks in Hong Kong, the two organizations agreed on terms for the return to Taiwan of the $62 million aircraft, as well as the copilot and flight engineer, who were unwilling passengers on the unscheduled...
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