Under the new system, foreign passport holders who wish to go in and out of Jilin temporarily more than once, can apply for multi-entry visitor permits valid for two to five years with each stay no longer than a year.

Foreigners working in China will be able to apply for residency visas ranging from two to five years plus multi-entry permits for the same period of time.

Taiwanese businessmen who wish to visit China many times could get the multi-entry certificate, so long as they showed their identification card, border pass and relevant documents.

Foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to Jilin, will qualify for permanent residency and enjoy laissez-passer status.

In addition, the time limit for getting a passport will drop from the present five days to two days. The passports of those leaving or arriving urgently will be issued immediately.

The Jilin Provincial Public Security Department has issued 350,000 passports since 1998. The adoption of the new measures would ease commercial and trade exchanges between Jilin and other countries, said a local government official.

(People's Daily November 19, 2002)