Courts in Zhangzhou of east China's Fujian Province have heard more than 300 lawsuits concerning disputes involving Taiwan residents and businesses since its opening of the country's first courtroom for cross-Strait suits in March 2009.
As of Saturday, the special courtrooms for cross-Strait lawsuits at 11 local courts in Zhangzhou City had heard 361 cases, of which 332 had been settled, according to a court in Zhangzhou.
"At least 80 percent of the cases were settled at mediation," said Lin Yihua, the president of the Intermediate People's Court of Zhangzhou.
The Intermediate People's Court of Zhangzhou opened the first special courtroom for cross-Strait lawsuits last year and has since launched a "green passage" to ensure efficiency, Lin said.
"Papers are sent via express mail instead of being picked up personally, questions are asked over the phone or via email, and mediations are arranged on weekends or holidays for the convenience of litigants involved."
As the majority of the lawsuits concern business disputes, the courts have signed up Taiwan business people as consultants and jurors to help with the mediation and protect the legitimate rights of Taiwan businesses.
Zhangzhou, where many people have close family and cultural links with Taiwan, has a population of 4.75 million and has been a popular investment destination for Taiwan business people. As of last year, it had about 2,400 Taiwan firms registered with investments from them at 5.3 billion U.S. dollars. |
