Two reporters from the Xinhua News Agency arrived in Taipei city in Taiwan at 7 p.m. Thursday, becoming the first resident journalists from the Chinese mainland to set foot in Taiwan in decades.

They were interviewed by the local press upon arrival at the Taoyung Airport in Taipei.

They left Beijing on flight CA101 this morning and stopped in Hong Kong to change to flight CI101 to Taipei in the afternoon.

So far, seven news organizations in Taiwan have sent resident correspondents to the mainland on a continuous basis. More than 5, 000 journalists from Taiwan have toured the mainland. At the same time, some 200 journalists from the mainland have also visited Taiwan. Media on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have conducted regular exchanges and cooperation.

(Xinhua 02/09/2001)