Taiwan resident Xu Huayang hasn't stopped smiling since learning that he soon will not need an entry permit for the Chinese mainland.
The State Council, China's cabinet, announced in a notification on June 18 that entry-permit requirements for Taiwan residents visiting the mainland would be removed from July 1. The revised rule will enable Taiwan residents to enter and exit the mainland by producing a travel pass without having to apply for a visa-like document on every visit.
Xu, a Peking University master's student, has lived in Beijing for the past four years. Like other Taiwan residents, he needs an entry permit to come into the mainland, a rule that's been around since 1992. For Taiwan residents on the mainland, such permits are renewed with a frequency ranging from three months to five years, depending on the nature of a person's stay.
