Bridging the legal divide

The establishment of courts to settle financial disputes between residents of the mainland and Taiwan has resulted in fewer cases, and better security for businesses, as He Na reports.

The small room in Xiamen, Fujian province, contains several bamboo sofas and a few small tables bearing delicate tea sets. A framed poem hangs in the middle of one wall, flanked by a couple of well-executed oil paintings that depict familiar landscapes on both sides of the Taiwan Strait; Gulangyu Island off the coast of Fujian, and Sun Moon Lake, a well-known tourist resort in Taiwan.

Given the decor, the room could be a trendy coffee shop, a hotel reception, or even a private art gallery, but it's not. In fact, it's an annex at Haicang District Cross-Straits Court, where plaintiffs and defendants can drink tea and hammer out agreements that will allow them to avoid expensive, time-consuming court proceedings.