I'm trying to figure out what it's like to be one of these smiling men (sans the adoring reporters and red carpet treatment). Who are they, you ask. Well, well...they are the first passengers on the first direct flight from Fuzhou to Taiwan in fifty years. They're the Neil Armstrongs of a new Post-Mao venture into a former no-man's land (er, no-man's space, really) hereon known as the 海峡两岸 or "Cross-Strait." Until recently, this was simply "the Strait," no criss-crossing about it from Taiwan to China (or vice versa) given the ongoing disputes about what kind of place is Taiwan (China's renegade province or its own nation-state?). The dispute is not really settled yet, just awkwardly deferred in favor of what the folks negotiating have noted as more "technical" matters like, um, wait for it..."advancing tourism and trade"!
"Cross-Strait" is not unlike cross-dressing, so to speak. Cross it at your own risk. At this early juncture ("opened" since late last December), it's not meant for the shy and unimaginative (ready cash, connections & passport are nice too). Like cross-dressing, "Cross-Strait" is also a kind of repetition with a difference, miming the gestures of territorial space while neither really here nor there, neither 国际 (international) nor 国内 (domestic). How do I know? Well, I've been asking around for a ticket on one of these flights. Needless to say, it's all such a new thing here that no one---from travel agents to tour operators to local "cultural exchange" officials---understand exactly how and who can get on one of these planes. Especially someone like me who is neither here nor there, neither "Taiwanese" per se nor "Chinese" per se. These days people here say you can order up a plane tix on the web, no problem. So I surfed around and what do you know, the only options on all web templates for flight selection are either 国际 (international) or 国内 (domestic). Try to select Fuzhou to Taipei on the "domestic" flight page and the result is a "sorry, your data do no compute" message. Try again with the "international" page: ditto. Seems those webfolks know a pandora's box when they see one and have judiciously decided to leave "Cross-Strait" alone for now rather than work it into their nicely functioning web templates for flight selection. Wise, very wise. Me on the other hand? I'm gunning to traverse this newfangled (air)space. They say you have a choice of Taiwanese or Chinese specialties on board. They say they've assigned their "best" staff to these planes. They say "everyone" is welcome to board...er, well, YES, if you have a Taiwanese "compatriot" certificate (no Taiwanese passports, please; it's like a fake ID to the PRC) or if you are a Mainlander, yes, you are welcome too but only if you travel in pre-authorized tour groups of 10+folks and you are all accounted for at each leg of departure and arrival. Oh, then there's some throwaway line about how "other foreign nationals" can board too. The specifics on that last one? Still stuck in that no-man's land. So that leaves me somewhere in between, too.
Stay tuned for Part II when I attempt to do my actual crossing of the Strait.
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