China launches weather satellite, flights avoid no-fly zone of Taiwan

33 flights had to alter their routes in a one-hour period, Taiwan says

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said the weather satellite Fengyun 3G had successfully launched from the northwestern province of Gansu, China. © Xinhua/Kyodo

April 16, 2023 13:33 JST

BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) -- China launched a weather satellite on Sunday as civilian flights altered their routes to avoid a Chinese-imposed no-fly zone to the north of Taiwan which Beijing put in place because of the possibility of falling rocket debris.

Taiwan's transport ministry said Beijing had initially notified Taipei it would impose a no-fly zone from Sunday to Tuesday but later said that period had been reduced to 27 minutes on Sunday morning after Taiwan protested.