Mainland and Taiwan media representatives Saturday pushed the authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to allow them to set up resident bureaus on each other's side.

Mainland media hoped the Taiwan authorities would allow them to set up resident bureaus on the island, said Zhou Xisheng, vice president of Xinhua News Agency, one of the mainland's most important media outlets, in his speech at the fifth Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum held in Changsha on Saturday and Sunday.

Currently, mainland journalists usually stay in Taiwan for three months and can extend their stay to six months after application approval. They can not rent or buy residences, but can stay in hotels.

The mainland also allows the maximum six-month stay for Taiwan journalists and they can rent residences on the mainland.

"The present arrangement is temporary. A resident office in Taiwan will help mainland media, including Xinhua, to improve news reporting and cut costs. It is an urgent issue about media cooperation across the Strait," Zhou said.

"I hope the Taiwan authorities can make it simple, put it high on the agenda and solve it as early as possible." he said.

George K. Shuang, president of Taiwan-based United Evening News agreed with Zhou on realizing resident reporting across the Strait.

"Exchanges between mainland and Taiwan media can only be normal when they are allowed to set up resident bureaus on each other's side," he said. "Thus, journalists will be able to understand each other better and report news in a more precise and objective way."

The Taiwan authorities should raise the quota for mainland media and journalists, he said.

Now Taiwan allows five central-level media outlets and five regional outlets from the mainland to send their reporters to the island. The mainland does not impose a quota.

Around 16,000 Taiwan journalists have visited the mainland by the end of 2008 since the mainland lifted the ban in 1987. A dozen Taiwan media outlets have reporters in mainland cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Kunming but for temporary posts.

The first two mainland reporters were posted in Taiwan in February 2001. Now seven mainland media outlets have staff there. Their legal stay in Taiwan has also increased from one month in 2001 to three months today.

(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2009)