The central government remains committed to improving policies to let Taiwan compatriots enjoy the same treatment as mainland residents, providing them with tangible benefits and a sense of security and warmth, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference in response to a media question about two new measures facilitating travel and residency for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan residents on the mainland.
The new policies, which took effect on March 20, allow Taiwan residents who lose, damage, or forget their travel permits to apply for a temporary electronic permit valid for seven days and introduce a verification service linking travel and residence permits to streamline procedures.
"The public security and immigration authorities officially launched the permit verification service and temporary electronic travel permit for Taiwan residents on March 20, offering greater convenience and receiving a warm welcome from Taiwan compatriots. Any initiative that improves the well-being of Taiwan compatriots is something we will continue to pursue with unwavering efforts, ensuring our policies are both effective and beneficial," Chen added.
"We will uphold the principle that 'both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one family' and will keep refining policies to ensure Taiwan compatriots enjoy the same treatment [as mainland residents] and provide better and more convenient conditions for them to study, work, start up businesses, and live on the mainland, creating a more caring environment where they can feel secure and at ease," Chen said.
Central gov't pledges continued efforts to enhance policies benefiting Taiwan compatriots
Central gov't pledges continued efforts to enhance policies benefiting Taiwan compatriots
China's domestically developed C919 large passenger aircraft began flight transport service on two new routes on Sunday.
At 11:19 on Sunday, a C919 aircraft smoothly landed at the Shenyang Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang City, the capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, from Shanghai in east China some 1,000 kilometers away, marking the C919's first commercial flight in northeast China. The airport celebrated the occasion with a water salute.
"The seats are very spacious, and the flight experience is excellent," said a passenger.
"Flying on a homegrown plane feels especially smooth. I took the inaugural C919 flight to Chengdu, and unexpectedly, within a year, more than a dozen routes have been launched. I think the airline operations in our country are particularly impressive," said another passenger.
The other new air route opened on the day for the C919 is the one from northwest China's Xi'an City to south China's Guangzhou City about 1,400 kilometers away.
The Xi'an-Guangzhou service became the third domestic air route operated from Xi'an to use the C919, following China Eastern Airlines' earlier introduction of this aircraft on its Xi'an-Beijing and Xi'an-Shanghai routes. This also means that the Xianyang International Airport in Xi'an has become a major airport in China in terms of flights performed by the C919.
Notably, China Eastern Airlines in January 2025 started using the C919 jetliner for regular flights between Shanghai in east China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the country's south -- which is the airline's first scheduled commercial flight service to Hong Kong using the C919.
The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a maximum capacity of 192 seats. It is China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, built in accordance with international airworthiness standards and featuring independently registered intellectual property rights.
China initiated the C919 project in 2007, and it was developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC). The first C919 aircraft rolled off the production line in Shanghai in November 2015.
China's homegrown C919 aircraft begins to serve two new domestic air routes
