Taiwan youth see mainland as land of opportunities

Guests attend the opening ceremony of the 21st Straits Youth Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, June 16, 2023. The 21st Straits Youth Forum kicked off Friday in Xiamen. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- In a singing competition held for students across the Taiwan Strait last year, Mao Chih-yuan, a Taiwan student at a university on the Chinese mainland, won the award for the best original song in the division of college students.

"It is more than just a plane ticket that connects both sides of the Strait. Riding a motorcycle on the serene mountain slope, I feel my horizons broadened with dreams in my mind," sang the postgraduate of the School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU).

Born in Taitung County of Taiwan, Mao chose to study on the mainland because he found that the mainland "is full of opportunities and challenges."

Like Mao, an increasing number of young people from Taiwan have come to the mainland to pursue education, find jobs or start businesses, embracing ample opportunities offered by the other side of the Strait with an open and enterprising mindset.

GREATER ACHIEVEMENTS ON A BETTER PLATFORM

Mao set foot on the mainland for the first time after being admitted to the SJTU in 2015. After completion of his undergraduate program, he continued his studies at the SJTU for a master's degree.

"The top-notch faculty and abundant learning resources of the SJTU have benefited me a lot," said Mao, adding that the outstanding alumni inspired him to become a doctor proficient in both clinical practice and scientific research.

In the past year, Mao has been actively engaged in conducting experiments, publishing papers, and writing popular science articles. "Aiming high and working hard, one deserves greater achievements on a better platform," he said.

At his leisure, Mao would write songs to record his life in Shanghai and express his love for the city.

Speaking of his future plans, Mao said he would stay in Shanghai for further studies after completing his master's program and "strive to become an excellent medical practitioner in the future."

SERVE AS DRIVING FORCE

The past year has witnessed the busy life of Lai Yen-chun, a young instructor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in central China's Hubei Province, who juggles her roles as a teacher, a lawyer, a mediator, and a volunteer of law education.

Coming from Taiwan and having lived in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province, for 14 years, Lai received higher education at Wuhan University, where she was elected as vice president of the student union in the School of Law, the first Taiwanese ever elected to the position.

During her master's program, she passed the national judicial examination and became the first legal practitioner from Taiwan in Hubei.

She has since dedicated herself to public interest services, providing legal consultations and law education for Taiwan compatriots on the mainland.

"When I came to Wuhan alone to pursue my studies, I felt at first confused and frustrated since I was unfamiliar with the city," she said. "Thanks to the care and encouragement from my teachers, classmates, friends, and the local Taiwan affairs office, I overcame the challenges and reach where I am today."

In 2022, Lai was awarded the Hubei Youth May Fourth Medal, the highest honor for outstanding individuals in the province.

Now, Lai often shares her experience with youth in Taiwan through the media. "I would like to serve as the driving force behind every youngster in Taiwan," she said.

SUPPORT DREAM SEEKERS

Coming to the mainland from Taiwan in 2009 as a dream chaser, Fanchiang-Feng, now general manager of the Qida Straits Youths Entrepreneurial and Incubation Center, has now become an entrepreneur helping others to chase their dreams.

Since establishing a start-up incubator in Xiamen in 2016, he and his team have assisted more than 40,000 young people from Taiwan to come to the mainland for exchanges and communication, and supported Taiwan youngsters in launching hundreds of start-up projects on the mainland.

Fanchiang's entrepreneurship experience enabled him to realize the importance of cooperation between Taiwan and the mainland in starting a business. "By working together, young entrepreneurs from across the Strait can learn from each other and achieve greater progress."

At Qida, each department is staffed with directors from both Taiwan and the mainland, and Qida's subsidiary companies are encouraged to have partners from both sides.

"They act as 'translators' to each other who can narrow the unnecessary information gap to the greatest extent and enhance efficiency in their work," Fanchiang said.

He believes that as the integrated development across the Strait deepens, more and more aspiring young people from Taiwan will come to the mainland to pursue their dreams on the fertile ground of opportunities.

"We youth from across the Strait should join hands to shoulder the missions of the times and live up to our youth," Fanchiang said.