Chinese mainland announces measures to boost cross-Straits entertainment, educational co-op

CHANGSHA, July 11(Xinhua) -- Officials from Chinese mainland Saturday pledged to further open its cultural and educational sectors to Taiwan, part of its drive to facilitate cross-Straits exchanges.

Cai Wu, minister of culture, said in an interview on the sideline of the fifth Cross-Straits Economic, Trade and Culture Forum that cultural authorities were making policies to encourage and benefit the development of Taiwan's entertainment business on the mainland.

People in the Taiwan entertainment industry would be allowed to run performance venues through jointly investing or cooperating with mainland enterprises or they can fund such venues on their own, said Cai.

Entertainment industry brokerage companies would also be allowed to set up branches on the Chinese mainland, he said.

Yuan Guiren, vice minister of education, said Taiwan students who have top-notch results in Taiwan college entrance examinations can also apply to mainland universities.

They will be recruited after passing interviews organized by mainland universities, he said, adding the ministry encourages and supports intercollegiate communications and cooperation between mainland and Taiwan universities such as student exchange programs and acknowledgement of credits.

Tian Jin, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said Taiwan cable TV network would be allowed to provide information services in the area of cable TV facilities and its related techniques in Fujian Province.

Regulators were also making policies that will allow Taiwan companies and individuals to cooperate with mainland businesses in movie shooting, movie theater construction and renovation, and mainland movies distribution, he said.

Wu Shulin, deputy chief of the General Administration of Press and Publication, said it plans to make Beijing, Shanghai, provinces of Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang test zones for cross-Strait publishing cooperation.

Publishers in Taiwan will be allowed to cooperate with mainland counterparts in publishing scientific and technical journals through the form of book copyright trade, he added.