(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-16 16:22

Taiwan residents can now sit for the judicial exam of the Chinese mainland, the Ministry of Justice announced on Wednesday.

Ding Lu, director of the National Judicial Examination Center under the ministry, made the announcement at a press conference held in Beijing by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

She said that in recent years, many Taiwan residents and law professionals had made inquiries through letters or telephone about the mainland judicial exam and expressed their wish to take part.

It was out of the need of the economic and social development across the Taiwan Straits for Taiwan residents to take the exam and get qualifications for law practicing on the mainland, Ding said.

The move would help promote cross-Straits exchanges and provide better legal service for compatriots across the Straits, she said.

Any Taiwan resident who meets the relevant conditions for sitting the exam is allowed to do so. They will take the exam just as mainland residents do, and if they pass it, certificates will be granted.

Ding said detailed arrangements for Taiwan residents to apply for the exam were being discussed and would be announced in due time.

She encouraged eligible Taiwan candidates to take the exam so that they could work with their mainland peers to promote economic development and China's prosperity.

The judicial exam, launched in 2002, is held annually in September. On the mainland, online registration usually starts in early June.

Ding said that registration would be conducted simultaneously in Taiwan and on the mainland.

Last year, 294,000 people took the exam across China, according to official figures.