CHINA / POLITICS
NPC deputies from Taiwan island eyeing exchanges between young people across the Straits
Published: Mar 06, 2023 10:58 PM
Tourists pose for a photo at Xiangshan Mountain in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, July 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

Tourists pose for a photo at Xiangshan Mountain in Taipei, Southeast China's Taiwan, July 21, 2019. Photo: Xinhua


Young people from the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan share their experiences, observations, and feelings on social media platforms, said deputies to National People's Congress from Taiwan, noting that people on the island are indispensable in the comprehensive promotion of the Chinese modernization process.

On many social media platforms used in the Chinese mainland, there are more and more works telling stories about Taiwan island. Meanwhile, watching mainland TV dramas, following mainland celebrities and TV shows, posting short videos on Bilibili or Douyin, and sharing their lives on Xiaohongshu have become a common way of life for many young people on the island of Taiwan, Cai Zhenqiu, a deputy to National People's Congress representing the island of Taiwan, introduced on Sunday during the ongoing two sessions.

He believes that young people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are sharing their lives, and expressing ideas in their own ways, which has a very positive influence on promoting cross-Straits exchanges. "Even through the debates between them, they are able to express different opinions and can understand each other more," he said.

Li Xingkui, another deputy from Taiwan, proposed that talent exchanges between the mainland and Taiwan should be expanded from universities to vocational colleges and corporate management personnel.

Moreover, he noted that young people from the island could also learn more about and even participate in political life on the mainland. "This will allow the young people from the island to gain a real understanding of the mainland's social system through firsthand experience, dispensing with the negative stereotypes perpetuated by some media reports from the West and on the island," he noted.

This year, Cai plans to submit proposals on how to integrate the people on the island of Taiwan into the modernization and revitalization of agriculture and rural areas in the Chinese mainland.

"Deputies represent the people, and as deputies from the island of Taiwan, we should strive to connect with the people, understand their needs, respond to their concerns, and work to solve their problems," Cai said.

"Compatriots on the island of Taiwan are indispensable in the comprehensive promotion of the Chinese modernization process," he said. "It is hoped that in the entire process, they can find opportunities to showcase their talents, embrace broad development space, realize their own life values, and work hand in hand with the mainland compatriots to jointly strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."