The Chinese mainland holds a positive and open attitude toward cross-Strait intercity exchanges with Taiwan as long as there is correct understanding of the nature of cross-Strait relations and city-to-city exchanges.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks Saturday in response to questions about an interview with Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, who made remarks on the annual city forum between Shanghai and Taipei, as well as the mainland-Taiwan relations.

Ko had said he would work actively to facilitate the exchanges between Taipei and Shanghai as long as the exchanges benefit people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and are conducive to peaceful development across the strait.

Ma said the mainland had taken note of the reports of the interview. He said Shanghai and Taipei will take care of detailed arrangements for the annual city forum.

The southeast corner of the imperial palace discovered at the Taosi relic site in Xiangfen County of north China’s Shanxi Province. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Archeologists have dated the ruins in the northeast of the Taosi relic site in Xiangfen County to around 4000 years ago.

They are believed to provide important evidence of China’s capital city system, officials from Shanxi institute of archaeology told Chinanews.com.

“We’ve been exploring the southeast corners of the palace since 2017. Basically, this palace has been completely preserved. It demonstrates a self-contained system and rigorous structure, with outstanding defensive function. It’s the earliest imperial city discovered in China so far”, said Gao Jiangtao with the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

A photo shows the southeast gate of the imperial palace discovered in the Taosi relic site in Xiangfen County of north China’s Shanxi Province. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Rectangular in shape, the site is about 470 meters in length from the east to the west, and some 270 meters in width from south to the north.

Spanning an area of about 130,000 square meters, the palace is composed of a north wall, east wall, south wall, and west wall. Only the foundations of the city walls remain, although some corners which have also been destroyed.

In ancient times, such imperial cities are indicative of a class division, with the living quarters of civilians separated from those of the royal family.

Archeologists point out that the Taosi imperial palace may indicate the beginnings of the capital system in ancient China.

The Taosi relics site covers an area of 3 million square meters. It is believed to be a settlement of the period of the five legendary rulers (2,600 BC-1,600 BC) in Chinese history.

Shanghai procuratorate has begun to offer rights and obligations notifications in both Chinese and English for cases relating to intellectual property rights (IPRs).

Starting Friday, procuratorates in the city will issue the new rights and obligations notifications to parties involved in IPR infringement cases.

Dozens of international brands, including Amore Pacific and Adidas, were shown the bilingual document on Friday, according to a spokesperson with the Shanghai Municipal People’s Procuratorate.

In 2013, procuratorate bodies in Shanghai began to notify IRP victims of their rights and obligations within three days of IPR infringement cases being accepted.

The bilingual document will help the aggrieved parties better claim their rights and perform obligations and will address misunderstandings caused by inaccurate translation, said the spokesperson.

A commercial helicopter crashed near a port in Taiwan’s Hualien County Saturday morning, killing three people.according to local authorities.

The fire department said the crash happened at around 11 a.m. and three fatalities had been confirmed.

The helicopter belonged to a local aviation firm and was being used for aerial filming.

An investigation is underway.

China is mulling an interim regulation that would improve transparency in the drafting of major administrative policies.

According to the draft regulation, released Friday, all major policies regarding people’s vital interests or having big influences on their rights and obligations should be made available for public solicitation.

The draft, released by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, dedicated an entire chapter to “Public Participation,” which specified the requirement on such procedures.

Such participation could be carried out in various forms including public hearings, questionnaires, surveys and interviews, according to the draft.

It also noted that the period of soliciting public opinion should be no less than 30 days.

Feedback is required on key issues brought up by the public, according to the draft.

Currently, there is still insufficient public participation in some cases, which has harmed the credibility of the government, said the office in an explanatory note.

The draft also highlighted the role of feasibility studies and risk evaluation procedures in decision making.

The public can submit their opinions at chinalaw.gov.cn before July 8.