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BEIJING - The Chinese mainland is considering a series of new preferential policies for Taiwanese residents, ranging from access to public provident funds to better tourism services, a mainland spokesman said Wednesday.

The move is the latest in a string of goodwill efforts by the mainland to boost the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.

Taiwanese residents working on the mainland will be granted equal rights to housing provident funds to help them purchase homes and settle on the mainland, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a press conference.

Under current regulations, urban residents on the mainland, together with their employers, pay a portion of their incomes into the housing provident fund to be eligible for low-interest housing loans. The fund can also be used for rent, renovations and major illnesses.

The spokesman said human resources authorities on the mainland are deliberating policies to give Taiwanese people who live, work or study on the mainland access to social security.

Meanwhile, finance and education authorities are expected to provide Taiwanese students on the mainland with more scholarships and better employment services, he said.

The National Tourism Administration asked tour companies to make travel more convenient for Taiwanese tourists and not to set any unusual restrictions for them, Ma said.

Banks on the mainland have revised or will adjust their policies to facilitate credit card applications for Taiwanese compatriots, he said.

Prior to these policies, the Chinese mainland published preferential policies for Taiwan residents in May, including easier access to transportation, employment, education and legal services.