2015年CRI 台湾游客往来大陆免签政策开始实行

 

The new electronic pass cards will be issued in Fujian as of this coming Monday.

Zhang Dongli, head of the province's Entry and Exit Bureau, says the new cards will eventually replace the current travel passes still required for people from Taiwan to enter the mainland.

"There are obviously two differences: first, an electronic pass card is easier to carry around; second, those pages designed for entry permit stamps will no longer exist. And one more thing which is important is that we will add an intelligence chip into the pass card. "

Current travel pass booklets held by travellers from Taiwan will remain valid¹ until the booklet's expiration² date.

The new electronic cards are part of a broader move by mainland authorities to make travel from Taiwan much more convenient.

As of this Wednesday, people from Taiwan no longer have to go through the application process for the visa-like entry permit to enter the mainland.

The first flight from Taipei to Beijing under the relaxed procedures arrived on Wednesday morning.

Reporter Wang Mingyi with the Taiwan-based "China Times" newspaper was on that flight.

"Before landing entry permits were issued, we usually applied³ to travel agencies for a visa-like entry permit two weeks ahead of our visits. Then ports like Beijing and Shanghai opened landing entry permits services. All we need to do was to fill in a form of application upon arrival and submit a photo. It cost 50 yuan and only took 5 to ten minutes. After the removal of the visa-like entry permit, so we don't need to queue up at the permit counter. And it takes 20 seconds to pass the border quarantine counter. Thus this brings great convenience to people who often travel across the straits."

Wang Mingyi says the relaxed procedures are definitely going to help increase cross-strait exchanges.

"I think in terms of the procedural convenience, either media or ordinary people, they are welcoming this policy and are expecting good results. Nearly 8 to 9 million people from Taiwan travel to the mainland annually⁴. Each person can save an entry permit fee of 50 yuan. Meanwhile, a lot of time, man powers and resources can also been saved. So this can to a larger degree contribute to cross-straits exchanges."

Last year, people from Taiwan made 5.4 million trips to the mainland.

Conversely, some 4-million trips were made from the mainland to Taiwan last year, up dramatically from the 280-thousand trips made in 2008 when authorities in Taiwan first began allowing direct flights.

Under the previous rules, people from the mainland hoping to travel to Taiwan had to sign up for group tours, and had to fly through a non-mainland connection, normally Hong Kong, before being allowed to enter Taiwan.

For CRI, I'm Wang Wei.

1 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

2 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。