Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office [Photo by Yang Kejia/chinanews.com]

Over the past year, around 800 people from Taiwan have obtained a variety of qualifications in the mainland, and the mainland has opened 134 vocational qualification tests to people from Taiwan, according to Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference on Nov 27.

The 31 measures, which were unveiled by the mainland last year, allow people from Taiwan living on the mainland to enjoy the same treatment as mainland citizens. They are meant to promote cross-Straits economic and cultural exchange.

Thanks to the 31 new measures, more than 1,600 Taiwan teachers are now working at over 200 colleges and universities in the mainland, and 72 Taiwan professionals have been listed in the national "Thousand Talents Program". In 2018, there were 157 projects submitted to programs run by the National Social Science Fund of China by Taiwan researchers working in the mainland, 58 of which were approved, Zhu added.

Cultural cooperation across the Straits saw steady growth momentum. Zhu said that 17 films and TV series made in Taiwan were shown to the mainland this year, five more than 2018, and the romantic film More than Blue directed by Gavin Lin earned a total of 954 million yuan ($135.62 million) in box office revenue, ranking 16th at the mainland box office this year.

Zhu noted that the 31 measures will offer Taiwan artists more room for development and create more opportunities for both sides of the Straits to preserve and promote traditional Chinese culture.