Mainland preferential policies to further benefit Taiwan enterprises, compatriots: Spokesperson

BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland will continue to implement its preferential policies to benefit Taiwan enterprises and compatriots, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday.

When asked to comment on the implementation of the policies at a press conference, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland will continue to resolve the problems concerned by the Taiwan enterprises and compatriots timely and create more convenient and favorable conditions for them.

The preferential policies, also known as "31 measures," unveiled by the office and the National Development and Reform Commission in February 2018, cover fields of industry, finance and taxation, land use, employment, education and health care, and are aimed at sharing the mainland's development opportunities with Taiwan.

So far, 99 local governments in 28 provincial-level regions on the mainland have taken tailored measures to implement the preferential policies for Taiwan compatriots, the spokesperson said.

In regards to academic, art and cultural exchanges, 30 academic journals from Taiwan have been included in the journal list of the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index, a major interdisciplinary citation index program in China. The China National Arts Fund has received 12 applications involving cooperations with institutions and agencies from Taiwan, and 19 Taiwan artists have applied for funding programs through the CNAF, according to the spokesperson.

Ma added that Beijing's office for Taiwan affairs has launched a public house renting program, with the first batch of 40 flats being available for Taiwan compatriots in Beijing to rent.