New travel rule to boost cross-Straits ties

The Chinese mainland will remove the entry permit requirements for Taiwan residents from today. This means Taiwan residents won't have to apply for a visa-like entry permit to visit the mainland; only a travel pass will do.

The policy revision will also ease the document requirements for Taiwan residents applying for a travel pass, providing them with a new type of pass which would be valid for three months. Taibaozheng, an identification document that carries the entry permits for Taiwan compatriots, will now be made into a card for self-entry service through designated airports and ports.

Aimed at making the exchange of personnel between the two sides of the Straits easier, the new permit-free policy is already seen as a milestone in the mainland's efforts to deepen cross-Straits relations, which is undergoing crucial changes at present.