China-Taiwan

China-Taiwan: Travel passes issued by Beijing to Taiwanese will be converted from passport-like documents to a basic computer readable card, the reports said, according to Asahi Shimbun. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province and doesn't recognize passports issued by the self-governing island democracy, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949. Rule changes will remove the need for Taiwanese visitors to apply for entry permits, the reports said, citing comments by top government adviser Yu Zhengsheng at a weekend China-Taiwan forum. Over the past decade, China has sought to court the Taiwanese electorate with economic incentives such as market access for the island agricultural goods and visits by free-spending Chinese tourists. Dissatisfaction with the ruling Nationalist Party pro-China policies resulted in massive wins for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in last year local elections. However, many Taiwanese voters have balked at closer ties, fearing for the island political independence and worried that the benefits go mainly to the rich and major corporations instead of the struggling middle class. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.