Four minutes’ worth of Internet traffic flowed this week over the first data cables linking China and Taiwan. The undersea cables cost four Chinese and Taiwanese telecoms $6.4 million to build and represent more than just a simple communications link between the two nations. Relations between China and Taiwan have been tenuous since 1949 — Taiwan views itself as an independent nation, but the Chinese government wants it reunited with mainland China. However, the cables are the latest product of the countries’ recent efforts to improve ties through new transportation routes, communication networks and other economic links. Read the full story at Mashable.