A term used to describe the direct flights, shipping and postal services across the Taiwan Straits. Inaugurated on December 15 last year, their reopening between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan signals the breaking of a decades-long ban on regular links with Chinese compatriots across the Taiwan Straits. Direct communication across the Straits virtually stopped after the new China was founded in 1949 and the Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan.

“大三通”指海峽兩岸“通郵、通航、通商”。海峽兩岸于2008年12月15日開啟的“大三通”標志著橫亙在大陸和臺灣同胞間常達幾十年的有礙正常交往的堅冰已被破除，自1949年新中國成立，國民黨退守臺灣后，兩岸直接聯系實際上就停止了。

The establishment of three direct links - trade, transport and postal services - was first proposed by the mainland in 1979, hoping to end cross-Straits separation for the benefit of both economies and people.

“大三通”（通商、通航、通郵）的開啟，最初是由大陸方面于1979年提出的，希望以此結束兩岸隔離狀態，使經濟發展和兩岸同胞受益。

In 2001, a "mini three links" was established, allowing postal, transportation and trade between the mainland's coastal Fujian province and the islands of Jinmen and Matsu in Taiwan. Cross-straits charter flights were approved in 2003 during the Lunar New Year and later expanded to other traditional festivals.

“小三通”于2001年啟動，允許大陸沿海省份福建和臺灣金門、馬祖兩島之間實現通郵、通航、通商。2003年正式批準春節期間實行兩岸包機，之后逐步擴展到其它傳統節日。

（實習生 許雅寧，英語點津 Helen 編輯）

點擊查看更多新聞熱詞