“Expanding people-to-people exchanges and deepening integrated development” is the theme of the 16th Straits Forum held recently. The main venue of this forum is located in Xiamen, Fujian, and it is co-hosted by 86 units from both sides of the strait, including the main forum and 50 activities in four major sections: grassroots exchanges, youth exchanges, cultural exchanges, and economic exchanges. “More than 7,000 Taiwanese compatriots came across the sea, setting off a wave of cross-strait people-to-people exchanges. More than half of the Taiwanese compatriots who participated in the forum for the first time were new faces, and the proportion of “first-timers” and Taiwanese youth reached a new high.” At the regular press conference of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on June 26, spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said that this fully shows that the DPP authorities’ obstruction and restriction of cross-strait exchanges is unpopular, and fully demonstrates that peace, development, exchanges, and cooperation are the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan society.
As the largest cross-strait civil exchange event, the Straits Forum has adhered to the “civilian, grassroots, and extensive” positioning since 2009. No matter how complex and severe the cross-strait relations are, the forum has always been unimpeded and has never been interrupted. It has become an important platform for promoting extensive exchanges between all sectors on both sides of the strait and promoting cross-strait civil exchanges and cooperation. Through the “annual meeting”, compatriots on both sides of the strait have come closer and closer, deepened their friendship, and look forward to a brighter future in deepening integration and development.
Broad prospects for industrial cooperation
Nowadays, many Taiwanese compatriots invest and start businesses in the mainland, choosing to use technology to empower agriculture and revitalize rural areas, and promote cross-strait industrial cooperation.
In Jinhua, Zhejiang, Taiwanese compatriots Lu Guofeng and Zhang Yuanyuan, drawing on Taiwan’s experience in precision agriculture, founded the “Cross-Strait Agricultural Science and Technology Industrial Park” and used “heat-locking energy storage membrane” in the greenhouse of the fruit plantation to keep the fruit production of good quality. In Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan, Taiwanese compatriot Lin Chunfu founded Mianning Yuansheng Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., adopting the “company + technology + farmers (poor households) + base” model to help farmers realize land dividends and work income.
As one of the activities of this year’s Straits Forum, at the 7th Cross-Strait Grassroots Governance Forum, more than 300 grassroots public opinion representatives and representatives of relevant sectors from both sides of the Taiwan Strait conducted in-depth exchanges on the theme of “Technology Empowering Smart Villages”.
Liu Qifang, chairman of the Kaohsiung Neighborhood Chiefs Association in Taiwan, said, “Taiwan is currently facing problems of declining population growth, urban concentration, and unbalanced urban and rural development. Fortunately, through the empowerment of digital technology and the promotion and popularization of regional innovation, we can connect the highly differentiated needs of urban and rural areas, build a people-oriented innovative application ecosystem, and bridge the urban and rural gap.”
“The latest agricultural technology can increase production and maintain the ecological balance of the environment.” Chen Zexiu, chairman of the Architects Association of Kinmen and Matsu, Fujian, believes that by integrating fish-vegetable symbiosis, scientific agriculture, photovoltaic green energy technology, and then having architects plan a new type of agricultural factory, using scientific and technological means to achieve environmentally friendly goals, a better future new countryside can be created.
“We hope to empower science and technology, take new agricultural productivity as the cornerstone, inject new vitality into rural ecological construction, improve the environment, and promote rural prosperity.” Liao Wentai, chairman of Shanghai Huafeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Taiwanese investor, believes that smart rural ecological construction, as a key means of rural revitalization, shoulders the mission of promoting green, smart and sustainable development.
Last year, Fujian Province added more than 2,100 Taiwanese-funded enterprises, with actual utilization of Taiwanese capital exceeding RMB 7 billion. From finance and technology to the development of traditional Chinese medicine and the health industry, compatriots from both sides of the strait participated enthusiastically in this Straits Forum and jointly drew up a vision of integration.
“I’m from Taiwan, and my main job is to help Taiwanese companies go public in the mainland and provide securities and financial services to Taiwanese compatriots.” Yuan Yujing, deputy director of the Taiwan Investment Service Center of Jinyuan Tongyi Securities, is very optimistic about the prospects of the mainland market. In the process of contacting Taiwanese companies, she learned that many Taiwanese investors are not clear about the relevant policies of the mainland. “The 14th Five-Year Plan and the Outline of the 2035 Vision Goals provide convenience for Taiwanese companies. After understanding the relevant policies, they carry out global layout of their companies and further root some of their work in the mainland.” Yuan Yujing said.
Young people join hands to show their responsibility
The hope of the country and the future of the nation lies in the youth. More and more Taiwanese youth are crossing the strait to bravely pursue their dreams, demonstrating the mission and responsibility of the youth on both sides of the strait to join hands and create a common rejuvenation.
“From the vast deserts of Inner Mongolia to the steep cliffs and strong pines of Huangshan… when I was young, I was shocked by everything that happened on this land. These experiences planted the seeds for my later entrepreneurship in mainland China.” Xu Boling, the founder of Xinqing Medical (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. and a Taiwanese youth, recalled the scene when he first came to the mainland as a child, and it is still vivid in his mind.
Xu Boling was taught by her father since she was a child that she must return to the mainland of China to develop in the future. After graduating with a doctorate, she resolutely returned to Suzhou with cutting-edge overseas technology and joined the ranks of science and technology to develop the country. In 2017, adhering to the original intention and sense of mission of “serving human life”, she founded HeartQing Medical and led the team to achieve a number of innovative breakthroughs in the field of artificial heart research and development.
From her childhood dream of coming to the mainland to her current life and work in Suzhou, Xu Boling expressed her true feelings of “the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family” through her own personal experience. Looking to the future, she called on more young Taiwanese to seize the opportunities of the times and actively participate in the integration and development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
The “Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Supporting Fujian in Exploring New Paths for Cross-Strait Integration and Development and Building a Cross-Strait Integration and Development Demonstration Zone” issued in September last year proposed supporting cooperation between Fujian and Taiwan in baseball and softball and other youth sports. Against this background, the “Fujian Sea Sharks” baseball team came into being.
As the first “cross-strait joint team” baseball team in China, the team has 21 athletes and 4 coaches, of which 2 coaches and 6 athletes are from Taiwan. In the China Baseball League (Chengdu Station) last month, the Fujian Sea Sharks won their first victory in the China Baseball League.
Zeng Huawei, the head coach of the team from Taiwan, said, “In a baseball game, you can only score points if you start from home base and return to home base. So baseball is a sport that starts from home and returns to home. We are not only the champions of the game, but also the champions of cross-strait integration.”
Tu Weilong, the coach of the Xiamen University team, said that he believed that in the near future, there would be more cross-strait joint basketball teams and joint football teams. By then, it would not only be a cultural and sports exchange, but also a real cultural and sports integration.
Today, many young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are getting closer and closer in the pursuit of dreams, building dreams and realizing dreams, opening a new chapter in the future of both sides. Among them are community builders, financial practitioners; lawyers engaged in legal aid, airline flight attendants; scientific and technological commissioners in the fields, and college students from the “Dajiu Academy”…
Because they share the same language and are of similar age, it is natural for young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to want to communicate enthusiastically. Zhang Hua, director of the Comprehensive Office of the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that no matter how bumpy the road is, as long as the bridge of communication between the two sides is built, there will be a chance for the peaceful and integrated development of cross-strait relations.
More active exchanges at the grassroots
In recent years, all kinds of film and television works from Taiwan and the mainland have gained good reputations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the exchanges and cooperation between the film and television industries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have continued to deepen. While Taiwanese dramas are popular in the mainland, mainland film and television works are also very popular on the island.
At the 16th Straits Film and Television Festival Gala held on June 15, “The Pursuit” and “Legend of White Snake” won the most popular Taiwanese film and TV series among mainland audiences, while “Miss Her” and “Joy of Life” won the most popular mainland film and TV series among Taiwanese audiences.
In the view of Zhang Zhengfen, general manager of Sanhe Marketing in Taiwan and assistant professor of communication at National Chengchi University, the important elements that attract the attention and identification of Taiwan’s youth are the emotional resonance of the good old days and the natural and pure local human touch.
Over the past year, cross-strait audiovisual exchanges and cooperation have overcome obstacles and barriers and presented a new look. Many excellent audiovisual works have been broadcast on both sides of the strait, rallying the hearts of the people on both sides. Various forms of industry and youth activities have deepened exchanges and interactions. A series of major policies and measures in the field of radio, television and audiovisual that benefit Taiwan have been introduced, promoting the two sides to work together to create more audiovisual works that showcase the charm of Chinese culture and jointly promote Chinese culture.
“In recent years, Taiwan’s outstanding film and television dramas have achieved outstanding results. I hope that mainland film and television industry practitioners can learn more about Taiwanese dramas.” Wang Weijiang, founding chairman of the Taiwan Chinese Broadcasting and Television Program Production Business Association, said that he hopes that colleagues on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will be able to further deepen cooperation and exchanges in the future, create more excellent works, and work together to enter the international market.
“The mainstream public opinion in Taiwan is looking forward to peace, mutual benefit, coexistence and prosperity in the Taiwan Strait, and jointly opening up the vision of prosperity on both sides of the strait.” At this Straits Forum, Zhang Lishan, the magistrate of Yunlin County, Taiwan, said that the two sides should work together to promote cross-strait relations on the path of peace and stability based on the recognition and respect of the “1992 Consensus”, and work together to contribute to the prosperity of the two sides. (Economic Daily reporter Li Wanxiang Li Siyu)
2024-06-30 22:19:08
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