BEIJING -- Students from two more mainland provinces will be allowed to study in Taiwan, bringing the number of such municipalities and provinces on the mainland to eight, a mainland spokesman said Wednesday.

Launched in 2011, the pilot program for mainland students studying in Taiwan has now expanded to the provinces of Hubei and Liaoning, following the municipalities of Beijing and Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, Yang Yi, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said at a regular press conference.

College graduates with household registrations in these eight regions and degrees acknowledged by Taiwan are eligible to apply for admission to postgraduate and doctorate programs in Taiwan, Yang said.

High school graduates who sit the mainland's college entrance exam this year will be able to apply for admission to colleges and universities in Taiwan, according to Yang.