Taiwanese business people on the mainland are set to benefit from new favorable policies.

Small-and medium-sized enterprises on the island will be able to gain loans from the China Development Bank for their businesses on the mainland, provided their investment is in line with the mainland's industry policies.

In addition, Taiwanese investors will be allowed to run cooperative hospitals with their mainland partners, and medical workers from the island will be able to practise on the mainland once they obtain licenses issued by the mainland health authorities.

These were revealed in a "10-point" common ground agreement reached when Li Bingcai, vice-director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, held a work meeting with Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Party delegation led by KMT's Vice-Chairman Chiang Pin-kung in Beijing yesterday.

During the talks, Li said his office will collaborate with related departments to expand educational channels for children of Taiwanese business people on the mainland to facilitate their schooling.

"We welcome the KMT party's efforts to organize related people on the island to exchange views on investment in the mainland in the fields of finance, insurance and trade."

The Customs office on the mainland will push for the facilitation of entry/exit passes to help imports and exports, according to the common ground document. More than 1 million Taiwan business people work or live on the mainland, statistics show.

"Protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Taiwan business people on the mainland is an old question, which should be answered with a sound mechanism," said Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of CPC Central Committee, when meeting with the delegation in Beijing on Sunday.

"We are making efforts in that direction," Chen added. Both sides also vowed to promote direct flights as soon as possible, to help reduce the transport cost of fruit and farm produce from the island and facilitate business travel and tourism across the Straits.

(China Daily November 2, 2005)