Officials of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Thursday that they are studying the issues of allowing Taiwanese people to accept work in China's public agencies and of allowing Chinese basketball players to play professionally in Taiwan. The United Daily News reported that day that China's Fujian Province plans to invest 200 million Chinese yuan (US$29.36 million) to attract overseas talent, including professionals from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, over the next five to 10 years to work for corporations. It will also recruit Taiwanese to work in public institutions. Responding to the report, MAC Vice Chairman Liu Teh-hsun said that according to the Statute Governing the Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Taiwanese are not allowed to work for Chinese political, government or military institutions without approval from the Taiwan government. Meanwhile, ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislators Ting Shou-chung, Chang Hsien-yao and Huang Chih-hsiung discussed in a public forum the possibility of bringing Chinese players into Taiwan's professional basketball league, the Super Basketball League (SBL) to 'increase cross-Taiwan Strait basketball exchanges.' Some of Taiwan's top basketball talent has opted to play in China this year, attracted by higher salaries, but Chinese players are still banned from playing in Taiwan, which has created 'an imbalance between cross-strait sports exchanges,' Ting said. Liu said for his part that one of the important issues in hiring Chinese players will be how their presence and status in Taiwan is recognized, Liu said, adding that if they are classed as workers rather than 'professional expertise exchange personnel, ' a legislative resolution will be required. As cross-strait relations have relaxed over the past year, more bilateral personnel exchanges and movement have been discussed or implemented, including the enrollment of Chinese students in local universities and further opening Taiwan to Chinese white-collar workers. The recruitment of Chinese basketball players will probably squeeze out job opportunities for local players, which is why the proposal should be carefully examined, Liu added. 