Chinese mainland rolls out measures to facilitate Taiwan residents' travel, residency

The Chinese mainland rolled out two new measures on Thursday aimed at easing travel and residency for Taiwan residents, saying the policies will better facilitate their studies, entrepreneurship, employment and daily life.

Under the policy, which took effect the same day, Taiwan residents who lose, damage or forget to carry their travel permits can apply for a temporary electronic permit valid for seven days, allowing them to board flights and trains within mainland cities, the National Immigration Administration said. The administration also launched a verification service linking travel and residence permits.

Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said public security and immigration authorities have long placed great importance on protecting information security.

Both services require voluntary application and can only be provided after real-name and real-person authentication, Chen said.

Recently, Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party has sought to "confuse and mislead" the public by equating mainland residence permits with ID cards for mainland residents, which has caused fear among Taiwan residents, he said.

The two documents serve entirely different purposes, and the residence permit was introduced to meet the needs of Taiwan residents studying, working and living on the mainland, Chen said.

Applicants for mainland residence permits are not required to obtain mainland household registration or relinquish their Taiwan household registration, and their rights and obligations in Taiwan remain unaffected, he said.