Hmm..what a bummer. It just caught be by surprise, since I was able to do 15k PVG-TPE just few months before.

Well, if this is how it's going to be, I'll be flying *A award (UA miles) on this one!
Air China has direct flights from PEK-TPE, 2x daily...just have to see about availability.

Thanks again for the info! Looks like my AA miles will be used for flying somewhere else...