Taiwan has relaxed its rules for the first time in 30 years to allow non-profit civic groups from Hong Kong and Macao to set up branch offices on the island.

The island’s Ministry of the Interior announced on Wednesday that it had amended guidelines to allow more flexibility for international organizations to decide the level and scope of their operations. Under the revised regulations, foreign non-profit organizations may establish secretariats and multiple offices in Taiwan.

People who were foreigners and were in charge of the international offices would be granted a six-month grace period to obtain the required alien resident certificate in Taiwan, the ministry added.

It also removed a rule for offices to report to the police, to bring the arrangement in line with the spirit of freedom of association, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The ministry said it expected the eased rules to help attract foreign, Hong Kong and Macao civic groups to form local offices, which would aid the island’s international development and civic-level diplomacy.

Mainland Chinese organizations were still barred from setting up offices in Taiwan, in order to protect national security and other interests, the ministry said. Taiwanese people were also banned from taking up any roles at offices of mainland Chinese organizations.

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