Effective September 1, 2018, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents living in the Chinese mainland will be able to apply for a residence card that promises them basically the same rights mainland residents enjoy.

The new card is embedded with a readable chip and can serve as a form of identification for social insurance, housing funds, financial services as well as public services such as education and transportation.

Previously Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents living in the Chinese mainland were issued a travel permit that do not always allow a convenient verification of their ID, especially when it comes to accessing digital applications and public services, as these platforms can only recognize the 18-digit ID of mainland residents.

Chen Jingqiu, a Taiwanese patisserie owner living in Fuzhou, Fujian, told CGTN that she hopes to promote her brand via a public account on China's social media app WeChat but couldn't register as a subscription account with her travel permit. Now with the new residence card, it's all become possible.

According to Shi Jun, vice minister of China's Ministry of Public Security, the residence card follows the same technical specifications as the mainland resident ID card. To obtain the card, applicants will need to have lived, worked or studied in the mainland for at least six months. Once the condition is met, they can apply with their local exit and entry administration.

Huang Shoukun, a lacquer artist from Taiwan who started his own studio in the mainland earlier this year, said he was very excited about this new policy. He has to frequently travel across the strait and when taking public transportation he always has to leave earlier because he couldn't retrieve tickets through vending machines as mainland residents do. With the new card, though, traveling will become easier.