Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific Frequent Flyer Programs - Taiwanese flying back from China to vote in Saturday's Taiwan elections

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-12/airlines-boost-china-taiwan-flights-ahead-of-presidential-vote.html

"Airlines added 20 flights in the first eight days of the traditional holiday travel period last year, said Chu Kuan-wen, director of the aeronautics administration’s Air Transport Division. This year, they added 101 flights Jan. 10-Jan. 14, the day of the election, in which absentee voting isn’t allowed.

“Passengers returning home this week are likely for election votes,” Chu said in a phone interview yesterday.

The return of voters may benefit Ma, said Alexander Huang, a professor of political science at Taipei-based Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies. Ma’s push for closer economic ties with China has resulted in Taiwanese investment in China rising to $12.2 billion in 2010, up 26 percent from 2007, the year before he took office. "




Taiwanese really get out and vote - gotta love them for that.

It's a week before Chinese New Year. They're probably flying home to have a head start on the holiday as well.

Head start was 20 last year...

It's 101 this year so it's just more than beating the crowd to get back home...

I don't want to make this a political discussion. There are people on both sides who are so passionate about the election and, without an absentee ballot system, the only way is to go back for the election. People from all over the world are going back for the election although a lot more from China.

Those who travel and do business between Taiwan and the Mainland have seen the dramatic difference the KMT government made in the last 3 years and fear a DPP government would reverse a lot of the progress. That is extra incentive for them.

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS3/6840571.shtml has an article about this guy. He is having lunch on the 13th in Changsha, HSR high speed rail to CAN, redeye to TPE, TSA-TTT next morning to vote, TTT-TSA and have dinner in TPE, then TPE-HKG on the 14th at 20:30 and back via land to CAN. Business needs to be taken care of before the New Year, so he had to go back to CAN and then back to TW again for the New Year which is 1/23 this year (usually people want to be home home for dinner on New Year's Eve).

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS3/6840571.shtml has a map/schedule.

The airlines are selling double round trip tickets for a discount.

No political discussion...I'm not Taiwanese anyway.

But its amusing (even slightly admirable) that Taiwanese put their money and their time where their mouths are.

(contrast to stinginess of HK CPAs who won't vote on reforms cos they need to buy a HK$1.40 stamp to return their vote http://www.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=16519824&page=1#pid312145473)

What should we call these kind of trips? Voting Runs (VRs, like MRs)?


Which airlines selling double trips?! It's a really good proposition for the cross-strait airlines...

Head start was 20 last year...

It's 101 this year so it's just more than beating the crowd to get back home...

The New Year's rush has already began. This year's transport rush started last Sunday and will end on Feb. 16, according to the Ministry of Railways.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-01/10/c_131352938.htm

Chinese New Year falls on different dates every year. Last year's date would be irrelevant this year.

The New Year's rush has already began. This year's transport rush started last Sunday and will end on Feb. 16, according to the Ministry of Railways.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-01/10/c_131352938.htm

Chinese New Year falls on different dates every year. Last year's date would be irrelevant this year.

Taiwan's CAA director Chu was speaking of number of flights added in the "first eight days of the traditional holiday travel period". Don't think he was referencing any Gregorian calendar dates.

No political discussion...I'm not Taiwanese anyway.

Yep.. if one wanted to get political, one could even say that the Taiwanese are not flying back "from China"... but merely to another part of China.. after all isn't that the KMT policy.. one China... and that is why they are supposed to be returning to vote...

(dives for cover!)

Yep, I'm not Taiwanese (nor Chinese) either.

Personally I'm surprised that they would be returning "just to vote"..

Yep.. if one wanted to get political, one could even say that the Taiwanese are not flying back "from China"... but merely to another part of China.. after all isn't that the KMT policy.. one China... and that is why they are supposed to be returning to vote...

(dives for cover!)

Yep, I'm not Taiwanese (nor Chinese) either.

Personally I'm surprised that they would be returning "just to vote"..

And I'm hope I'm not being too pro-DPP by referring to Chinese of Taiwanese origin as "Taiwanese" or Republic of China government departments as "Taiwan's [CAA]". I have a preference for de facto descriptions rather than de jure.

The inclination is there - not surprising cross-strait businesspeople will be inclined to vote KMT, just as cross-border businesspeople in HK are likely to vote DAB. They benefit from closer ties with China the most.

However I'll be surprised if a HK cross-border business owner deliberately takes a cross-border coach back to HK to vote in a Legislative Council geographical constituency election (the closest thing we have to voting for representative government). So I'm impressed that his Taiwanese counterpart will fly in order to do so.

Of course the proximity of the elections to CNY holidays might motivate some Taiwanese businesspeople to return home early...can an incumbent government in Taiwan actually decide when to hold elections, subject to a maxmum period of time between elections (i.e. can hold early elections ike Westminster democracies)? If they can, a KMT incumbent government (like the one in power now) will be motivated to call elections close to CNY and a DPP incumbent will call one weeks after it.

Yep.. if one wanted to get political, one could even say that the Taiwanese are not flying back "from China"... but merely to another part of China.. after all isn't that the KMT policy.. one China...
Logistically, Taiwan is considered "foreign". In the US, we can go anywhere within the 50 states with just our ID/Driver's License... we don't even need a passport... likewise, the Chinese can travel anywhere within China with only their ID. BUT, going to HK/Macao/Taiwan requires a Visa or special travel document... and going through customs. In addition, cross-strait airline routes are not considered domestic routes.

It's going to be some time before anyone can say that going to HK/Macao/Taiwan is "going to another part of China".

Of course the proximity of the elections to CNY holidays might motivate some Taiwanese businesspeople to return home early...can an incumbent government in Taiwan actually decide when to hold elections, subject to a maxmum period of time between elections (i.e. can hold early elections ike Westminster democracies)? If they can, a KMT incumbent government (like the one in power now) will be motivated to call elections close to CNY and a DPP incumbent will call one weeks after it.

This year's election date is actually very horrible. I for one (though I never vote anyways), my mother for one, my sister for one, 2 uncles here, are all not going back to vote because we rather take a rest during Chinese New Year than flying back for 1-2 days just to vote and then come back to finish up the mess here. There are lots of people we know here are not going back to vote.

The usual dates in March are actually better cause it ties with 清明 (the day the Chinese/Taiwanese goes to cemetery and pray their ancestors) and people will go back to vote along with it. This year's date is extremely horrible.

They should have made the voting date 1/21 and tie it directly with Chinese New Year. Not ONE week ahead.

Taiwan's CAA director Chu was speaking of number of flights added in the "first eight days of the traditional holiday travel period". Don't think he was referencing any Gregorian calendar dates.

You can easily translate between the lunar and Gregorian calendars for the appropriate audience. I see little point using the lunar references in an English article geared for an international audience, while the information may have originally been provided in the lunar method at the press conference.

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS3/6845490.shtml - TPE has double the number of the passengers in the last 24 hours.

TPE arrivals seemed pretty normal to me yesterday afternoon (thank god). Maybe everyone is flying into Sungshan? As for the spirit of voting in HK versus Taiwan: your vote might actually make a different in the case of the latter. As for whom the returning businessmen/women, families, & students are going to vote, we only actually *know* in a few cases (here's to you, Terry Gou).

As for the spirit of voting in HK versus Taiwan: your vote might actually make a different in the case of the latter.

It's one thing for there to be no elections, or an election where the results have no impact. It's another thing to run an election, and then to hijack it - that's hypocrisy. That's why I make a point of voting in elections even tho I know the results don't matter.

http://udn.com/NEWS/NATIONAL/NATS3/6845490.shtml - TPE has double the number of the passengers in the last 24 hours.

576 flights at TPE yesterday...

Ma won! Must be because of all the Taiwanese coming back home. I love how fervent the Taiwanese democracy is and how much the people there care about their political futures.

Many of the Taiwanese I know who work in mainland China came back to Taiwan to vote this week, any time between Monday and early morning Saturday. And would fly back to China right after the vote, work for one more week and then fly back again to have their Chinese New Year break.

Now call that a VR+MR!

Ma won! Must be because of all the Taiwanese coming back home. I love how fervent the Taiwanese democracy is and how much the people there care about their political futures.

That helps but the margin was big enough, about 800,000 votes.

People just did not want to take chance with the huge reverse in the relationship with the Mainland to hurt the economy. Ma got some major endorsements the final days from people like Y F Chang, the founder of Evergreen/EVA...also the CEO of HTC...some are known to have endorsed, whether publicly or privately, the opposition in the past.

It's the economy, stupid :D (For those not in the US, this is a political saying, I am not calling anyone stupid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_the_economy,_stupid.)

Many of the Taiwanese I know who work in mainland China came back to Taiwan to vote this week, any time between Monday and early morning Saturday. And would fly back to China right after the vote, work for one more week and then fly back again to have their Chinese New Year break.

Now call that a VR+MR!


More likely a Segment run than a MR....

Logistically, Taiwan is considered "foreign". In the US, we can go anywhere within the 50 states with just our ID/Driver's License... we don't even need a passport... likewise, the Chinese can travel anywhere within China with only their ID. BUT, going to HK/Macao/Taiwan requires a Visa or special travel document... and going through customs. In addition, cross-strait airline routes are not considered domestic routes.


PRC makes a distinction between outside of border (境外) and foreign (国外) where the former includes HK/Macao/Taiwan. A passport cannot be used as travel document between PRC/ROC/HK/Macao for their citizens. Back in the 80s and early 90s, PRC citizens would need permit to enter urban Shenzhen that falls in the Special Economic Zone, and there was a wired fence and check points set up. In U.S, people can move between States freely, but that is not the case in China, although the residency rules are more relaxed these days.

The inclination is there - not surprising cross-strait businesspeople will be inclined to vote KMT, just as cross-border businesspeople in HK are likely to vote DAB. They benefit from closer ties with China the most.



It helps that PRC is discouraging tours to Taiwan around the election date, to reduce exposure of Mainlanders to the democratic process, and to make room for Taiwanese business men on the cross strait flights so they can vote for KMT.

PRC makes a distinction between outside of border (境外) and foreign (国外) where the former includes HK/Macao/Taiwan.

Let's not get carried away with this lumping HK/Macao/Taiwan together... (I know the quote above is just saying what the PRC reference, but anyway HK and Macau are parts of China. Taiwan is Taiwan.

Anyhow back on topic -- I was one of those who made the trip, and I returned to Shanghai today (day after the election), and then am going again for spring festival. Got the last seat on the CI flight that I wanted -- it was a 747-400 and the last seat was in F... I hadn't flown CI F since the 80s and there's a huge improvement!

I feel no matter how people voted it's an expression of our democratic right and our sovereignty and am very proud.

Got the last seat on the CI flight that I wanted -- it was a 747-400 and the last seat was in F... I hadn't flown CI F since the 80s and there's a huge improvement!

Was it an op-up :D:D:D?

It helps that PRC is discouraging tours to Taiwan around the election date, to reduce exposure of Mainlanders to the democratic process ...

People in Hong Kong are electing their "Chief Executive" later this year and from what I read, various political parties send their folks and/or watched the Taiwan election closely. As the BBC reported, both China and the US now breath easier and are relieved that Ma won't the election. :p

Mainlanders with access to the internet can and do manage to their "unofficial" sources of news, maybe not live or streaming as it happened - but workarounds to official media "censorship" limiting full coverage is said to be happening. ;)

A number of flights were delayed or grounded due to weather/fog and many pax. were waiting anxiously for ATC clearance to takeoff, worried about making it across to vote in the election (polls closing fairly "early" in the afternoon/evening) - wondered if all of them made it. Absentee voting wasn't allowed (by law) as more oversea ballots would've came in ahead of the election. The saying goes, "every vote counts" and democracy at works. ^

Turnout for the election was said to be as high as 80% among eligible/qualified voters - imagine what it would be like for our own U.S. election for the President this November, given the fragile state of our economy and all the parties' finger pointing blame games, hmmmm .... :rolleyes:

and all the parties' finger pointing blame games, hmmmm .... :rolleyes:

Yeah.. the Taiwanese don't bother with that. They just lock 'em up after they leave office!:D:D:D

People in Hong Kong are electing their "Chief Executive" later this year and from what I read, various political parties send their folks and/or watched the Taiwan election closely. As the BBC reported, both China and the US now breath easier and are relieved that Ma won't the election. :p

Mainlanders with access to the internet can and do manage to their "unofficial" sources of news, maybe not live or streaming as it happened - but workarounds to official media "censorship" limiting full coverage is said to be happening. ;)

A number of flights were delayed or grounded due to weather/fog and many pax. were waiting anxiously for ATC clearance to takeoff, worried about making it across to vote in the election (polls closing fairly "early" in the afternoon/evening) - wondered if all of them made it. Absentee voting wasn't allowed (by law) as more oversea ballots would've came in ahead of the election. The saying goes, "every vote counts" and democracy at works. ^

Turnout for the election was said to be as high as 80% among eligible/qualified voters - imagine what it would be like for our own U.S. election for the President this November, given the fragile state of our economy and all the parties' finger pointing blame games, hmmmm .... :rolleyes:

Official number came at 74.7%.

Yeah.. the Taiwanese don't bother with that. They just lock 'em up after they leave office!:D:D:D

Unfortunately, there are still several of them at large.

Unfortunately, there are still several of them at large.

LOL, for real - only a few of them (you really meant, the ones that are publicly known) ... :rolleyes:

Reading this oversea news site, it seemed that the ex-presidental & ex-VP candidates might be the subject of possible corruption investigation schemes - if only they have an ICAC like Hong Kong.

What baffled me was watching TV news that imprisoned former president's wife was wheel-chaired into the voting place and casted her ballot?? :rolleyes: I thought convicted prisoners lost many rights & privileges, among them - the ability to vote - guess not ?

What baffled me was watching TV news that imprisoned former president's wife was wheel-chaired into the voting place and casted her ballot?? :rolleyes: I thought convicted prisoners lost many rights & privileges, among them - the ability to vote - guess not ?

I don't think she's convicted -- it's her husband.


Was it an op-up ?

Unfortunately I had to buy it :(

I don't think she's convicted -- it's her husband.

Unfortunately I had to buy it :(

That's keen! I salute you ^

What baffled me was watching TV news that imprisoned former president's wife was wheel-chaired into the voting place and casted her ballot?? :rolleyes: I thought convicted prisoners lost many rights & privileges, among them - the ability to vote - guess not ?

Her case is in appeal therefore not settled and she still retains her right to vote.

Her case is in appeal therefore not settled and she still retains her right to vote.

In HK, convicted prisoners retain right to vote...HK Correctional Services set up poll stations in prisons http://www.discuss.com.hk/viewthread.php?tid=16021100&page=1#pid309016900

Official number came at 74.7%.

So it turns out true, less people voted cause of the awkward dates.

So it turns out true, less people voted cause of the awkward dates.

That's right, lowest turnout for presidential election.

So it turns out true, less people voted cause of the awkward dates.

Right, you have to vote where your "household registration" is. So, a lot of students away in college could not vote, for example - it was right after finals and they don't want to make 2 trips home - one to vote and another one a week later for Chinese New Year.

They said the poor weather also had something to do with it.

It helps that PRC is discouraging tours to Taiwan around the election date, to reduce exposure of Mainlanders to the democratic process, and to make room for Taiwanese business men on the cross strait flights so they can vote for KMT.

Interesting. But see NYTimes:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/world/asia/taiwan-vote-stirs-chinese-hopes-for-democracy.html?_r=1&hp
for Mainlanders specifically coming to see the elections.

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Only a few. If they allowed a lot, they risk throwing the election to the DPP.