The Chinese mainland yesterday gave Taiwan authorities its radar data and written records relating to the May 25 crash of a Hong Kong-bound China Airlines jet.

Wang Suh-yun -- deputy director of the Taiwan-based Cross-Straits Economic and Trade Association -- said: "This data will be sent to experts as soon as possible in order to help determine the real cause for the crash."

Wang arrived at Beijing International Airport yesterday afternoon to receive the data. She returned to Taiwan later yesterday via Hong Kong.

Mu Ming-chu, a Taiwan "legislator" who accompanied Wang, said that the Taiwan side was very grateful for the mainland's assistance. She said he hoped that the mainland people and government departments could continue to help the search for victims of the plane crash.

Liu Yajun -- deputy director of the Air-Traffic Management Bureau of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China -- said the mainland is willing to exert the utmost effort in helping the rescue work and investigation.

The Cross-Straits Economic and Trade Association last Thursday wrote to the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and requested radar and satellite data to use in its investigation of the crash.

Relevant departments on the mainland -- including the Air-traffic management department in Xiamen and experts from Sichuan University -- collected radar data and written analyses the next day after receiving the request.

According to Liu, the mainland's radar data records the speed, altitude and other relevant data about Flight CI-611 from 07:13 and 17 seconds to 07:28 and 21 seconds GMT.

The plane was more than 9,000 meters in the air, and only less than 1 percent of the wreckage has so far been retrieved.

The Taiwan side said that information recorded near sea-level is needed to better track the fall of the debris and locate the wreckage.

Since May 25, the relevant mainland departments have worked hard to help the Taiwanese authorities in various ways.

Mainland fishing boats have helped retrieve 10 bodies. Two other mainland fishing boats recovered 22 pieces of wreckage from the plane.

(China Daily June 3, 2002)