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MAC to ease rules on visits to China

County commissioners and city mayors are expected to be allowed to visit China for economic and cultural exchanges within a year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.

The MAC also announced that certain Chinese publications could be imported into Taiwan for sale as early as the end of this month.

"We hope to help local officials understand more about China. Thus we plan to open up channels for them to go to China for economic and cultural exchanges," said Jeff Yang (楊家駿), director of the council's Department of Legal Affairs.

According to Yang, only commissioners of the outlying islands Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu have visited China for economic and cultural exchanges via the "small three links" channel.

Though some mayors and commissioners of Taiwan proper have visited China by attending international seminars and meetings, they nevertheless can't go there for other reasons under current regulations.

"Some commissioners and mayors have expressed their opinions to the MAC that they wish to go to China to promote Taiwan's goods and culture. Considering their needs, we decided to allow them to do so," Yang said.

The measures will be implemented gradually by first allowing mayors and commissioners, except those of special municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the central government, to go to China.

"We will reflect on the results of the policy after implementing it for a certain period of time, then extend the policy to mayors of municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the central government," Yang said.

Taiwan has only two special municipalities: Kaohsiung City and Taipei City.

The mayors of these two cities will remain banned from going to China for economic or cultural exchanges because "they have more chances to attend international meetings," Yang said.

Such administrative measures, however, will not take effect until the Legislative Yuan approves revisions to the Statute Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (兩岸人民關係條例), Yang said.

The statute, however, is still awaiting approval in the legislature. It may be reviewed again in April.

Yang said that the MAC will draw up the administrative orders while waiting for approval from the legislature. The measure is expected to take effect within a year.

The importation of Chinese publications, however, could be allowed much earlier.

Chao Chieh-fu (趙傑夫), director of the MAC's Cultural and Educational Affairs Department, said yesterday that the ban on the importation of Chinese publications would be lifted as early as the end of this month, when a cross-ministry meeting is expected to approve it.

According to the draft, the scope of Chinese books allowed to be sold in Taiwan, however, will be limited to textbooks approved by college professors.

As for Chinese magazines, publishers would first have to convert the text from the simplified Chinese characters commonly used in China into the more complex characters used in Taiwan.

A meeting of Taiwanese publication associations will be responsible for deciding which magazines can be imported for sale here.

Another major project planned by Chao's department is inviting female writers from China to visit Taiwan for exchanges this year.
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