China accepts Taiwanese civil court decisions

The Supreme People's Court in China has announced that civil judgements given by courts in Taiwan will be acceptable on the mainland.

Court officials said the valid judgements would include those covering inheritance cases and family disputes as well as arbitrations made by relevant Taiwanese institutions.

But the vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, Tang Dehua, said some Taiwanese rulings could still be rejected by Chinese courts.

And he stressed that the ruling did not mean China accepted Taiwan's legal system or had given up its legal sovereignty over Taiwan.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service