County to welcome Taiwan drivers

Transport chiefs in Fujian province are seeking to encourage cross-Straits travel by permitting Taiwan-registered vehicles to be used in Pingtan county and pressing for similar arrangements for vehicles from Pingtan in Taiwan, a senior official said.

"Fujian's Department of Transportation is working on a program that will allow vehicles from Taiwan, including sedans and trucks, to be driven in Pingtan," said Zhang Zhaomin, a deputy to the National People's Congress and head of the department.

In April, a truck from Taiwan carrying a golden statue of Mazu, the traditional Chinese goddess of the sea who is worshipped by people across the Straits, was allowed on the roads in Pingtan. It had been taken there aboard the ferry Haixia that travels between Pingtan and Taiwan's Taichung and Taipei.