The China mainland education authority has granted scholarships to 1,705 students from Taiwan to encourage them to study on the mainland.

This is the first time Taiwan students have been granted mainland scholarships under interim methods for granting scholarships to Taiwan students promulgated in December last year.

Li Weiyi, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at Wednesday's routine press conference that 405 PhD students, 407 students studying for master's degrees and 893 undergraduates have won the scholarships based on their performance during the 2005-2006 academic year.

The scholarships, which fall into three categories, range from 2,000 yuan (about 250 U.S. dollars) to 8,000 yuan (about 1,000 dollars).

The Chinese mainland has been actively promoting exchanges of various sorts with Taiwan to bring Chinese people across the Taiwan Strait closer.

Editor: Donald