Cross-Straits legal deal bearing fruit

Increasing number of cases involving Taiwan residents being heard in mainland courts

Mainland courts handled nearly nine times as many cases involving Taiwan residents in 2014 as they did six years ago thanks to a cross-Straits agreement on mutual judicial cooperation, China's top court said on Tuesday.

Courts on the mainland and in Taiwan signed the agreement in 2009 to boost the efficiency of handling investigations, collecting evidence, delivering legal documents, approving verdicts from the other side and compensating victims, Supreme People's Court officials said.