China to Resume Some Ties with Taiwan, Plans to Increase Direct Flights

China announced it will restore certain connections with Taiwan and seeks to increase the number of direct flights between the two territories. The two sides had severed these contacts in 2016. Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island, has been separated from mainland China since 1949, with Beijing claiming it as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunified. The resumption of some ties represents a notable shift in cross-strait relations, which have remained tense for nearly a decade following the suspension of official contacts.