TAIWAN residents can now take the judicial exam of the Chinese mainland, the Ministry of Justice announced yesterday.

Ding Lu, director of the National Judicial Examination Center under the ministry, made the announcement at a press conference held in Beijing by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

She said that in recent years, many Taiwan residents and law professionals had made inquiries through letters or telephone about the mainland judicial exam and expressed their wish to take it.

The move would help promote cross-Straits exchanges and provide better legal services for compatriots across the Straits, she said.

Any Taiwan resident who meets the relevant conditions for taking exam is allowed to do so. They will take the exam just as mainland residents do, and if they pass it, certificates will be granted.

Ding said details about how Taiwan residents could apply for the exam were being discussed and would be announced in due time.

The judicial exam, launched in 2002, is held annually in September. On the mainland, online registration usually starts in early June.

Ding said that registration would be conducted simultaneously in Taiwan and on the mainland.

(Xinhua)