SHANGHAI, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Relevant departments of the Chinese mainland will soon allow mainland residents to tour in Taiwan, according to an announcement made here Tuesday morning by Chen Yunlin, director of the Taiwan Work Office of CPC Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

    Removal of the ban for mainland residents to travel to Taiwan will not just expand people-to-people contacts between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, but is conducive to boosting Taiwan's tourism, food and beverage and other related industries and will bring concrete benefits to the general public in Taiwan as well, said Chen.

    "For reasons known to all, the issue was long pending," he said."The Kuomintang (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) have expressed on many occasions the Taiwan compatriots' desire for mainland residents to travel to Taiwan -- the PFP has come up with specific proposals on this issue."

    "Tourism administration and all relevant parties on the mainland welcome organizations from Taiwan's tourism industry to start consultations with us on an earlier date in order to make detailed arrangements accordingly," he said.

    Chen said it is the mainland's commitment to the Taiwan compatriots to keep adopting new policy measures to solve issues of the Taiwan compatriots' concern and to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

    Removal of the travel ban came after Chen's announcement of the mainland's decision to present a pair of giant pandas to the Taiwan compatriots. Enditem