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1st LD Writethru: Mainland's removal of entry permit not to "citizenize" Taiwanese

Xinhua, June 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

Chinese Mainland's removal of entry permit requirements for Taiwan residents will make cross-Strait travel easier, but will not "citizenize" the Taiwanese or "make Taiwan like Hong Kong," said a mainland official on Wednesday.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference that claims by some Taiwan politicians that the mainland's removal of entry permit requirements for Taiwan residents is an attempt to "citizenize" the Taiwanese, are "unworthy of refutation."

Taiwan residents will no longer need permits to enter the mainland from July 1, according to a regulation issued last week.

Ma said some "Taiwan independence" politicians distorted facts and presented misleading arguments which "undervalued the Taiwan people's judgment" and did not merit rebuttal.

"These politicians are badly frightened by and hate any measures that facilitate cross-Strait exchanges," he said.

Taiwan residents will only need a travel pass to enter the mainland and will not have to apply for a visa-like entry permit for every visit. The revision also eases the requirements for the travel pass.

Ma said the mainland expects the new measure to benefit cross-Strait exchanges and bring people from both sides closer. "The new policy shows our care for Taiwan people's welfare and is a sincere attempt to serve and help them," he said.

The mainland will upgrade the travel pass for Taiwan residents by the end of this year. The new pass will include data, making checks easier and quicker, said the Ministry of Public Security, adding that the process could be self-service.

Ma said the design of the pass follows international standards and the trend of development of travel documents. "It is much easier to carry," he said.

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan broke off communications in 1949, after the Kuomintang (KMT) lost a civil war with the Communist Party of China and fled to the island.

Cross-Strait travel resumed in the late 1980s and has increased rapidly since 2008 when the two sides opened direct mail, transport and trade links and eased restriction on tourism.

Official statistics show in 2014, Taiwan residents made 5.37 million visits to the mainland, up from 4.36 million in 2008. Mainlanders made 4.04 million visits to Taiwan last year, compared with 280,000 in 2008. Endi