The mainland will continue to create a better investment environment for Taiwan compatriots and protect their legal rights by "resolutely overcoming bureaucratic difficulties and domestic protectionism", Beijing's top cross-Taiwan Straits ties official has said.

"Taiwan enterprises are spread over 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the mainland with investments in a wide range of fields," the head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, Chen Yunlin, told the National People's Congress Standing Committee yesterday.

"Most of them are on a sound development track," Taiwan compatriots' investments have contributed a lot to the fast industrial and economic growth of the mainland, Chen said.

He attributed the fast development of Taiwan enterprises to a series of proactive investment policies adopted by the State Council and local governments on the mainland.

The cross-Straits trade volume surged to more than $107 billion last year, with the mainland becoming Taiwan's biggest trade partner, largest export destination and major source of trade surplus, Chen said.

By the end of last year, the mainland authorities had approved more than 71,000 Taiwan investment projects with an actual investment of $44 billion.

Also, the mainland authorities have redressed a large number of complaints from the Taiwan compatriots. In fact, about 86 percent of the more than 10,000 complaints have been redressed since 2002.

A few problems, however, persist because some local governments and departments fail to provide the promised services to the Taiwan compatriots, Chen said.

"They don't realize the importance of protecting the legal interests of the Taiwan compatriots, and instead only pay attention to the money, not the service and protection," he said.

The constraints in Taiwan authorities' economic policy, too, are harming cross-Straits investors' interests, Chen said.

Chen urged local governments to become more aware and protect Taiwan investors' legal rights and try to "nip problems in the bud".

(China Daily April 25, 2007)