Hong Kong and Taiwan are ready to sign a new civil aviation agreement that is expected to increase daily flights between the two places. It is the first deal between them since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The travel industry hopes the deal will help Hong Kong attract more Taiwanese visitors. Cathay Pacific Airway’s Chief Executive John Slosar said that the airline was interested in one or two more daily flights in addition to the current 108 round-trip flights. The existing agreement, which regulates the routes and number of flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan, was first signed in 1996 when the city was a British colony. It has been extended eight times since.