Taiwanese journalists will have more freedom to report on the mainland from next year under new rules issued yesterday by the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office - which will also increase pressure on the island's authorities to lift restrictions on mainland reporters.
Under the new regulations, reporters from Taiwan will no longer have to seek government approval to carry out interviews on Olympic-related events as long as the individual or group they are interested in agrees to talk. Taiwanese reporters will also be allowed to hire local staff to help with their reporting.
The new rules, which will take effect from Monday and expire on October 17, 2008, are in line with similar provisions announced this month for journalists from overseas media outlets.
They also offer a hint of what could be in store for reporters from Hong Kong and Macau.
Wang Shuang , from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, said the office would issue specific regulations for journalists from the two cities 'very soon'.
The new regulations could disappoint some because many news organisations in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan had been expecting the authorities to give more leeway to reporters from the regions.
