The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Contruction has given its approval for 37 Taiwan architects to practice on the mainland. This is part of a policy to improve ties and foster the exchange of professionals across the Taiwan Strait.

The Ministry's market supervision director Wang Suqing said on Wednesday that the Taiwan architects are allowed to work for mainland state-owned or overseas-funded construction and design firms based on the mainland.

She said capable architects from Taiwan are very welcome to work on the mainland. And she also encouraged architects in the mainland to develop projects in Taiwan so that cross-Strait cooperation in architecture can be developed.

(CCTV January 8, 2009)