Enterprising Taiwan youth nurturing dreams on Chinese mainland

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Wang Hsiang-wei, a Taiwan student studying finance at Xiamen University in Fujian Province, is immersing himself in a myriad of job fairs to tap into the abundant opportunities available on the Chinese mainland.

"The Chinese mainland holds boundless prospects for development, providing ample space for my aspirations," he said. "I have decided to stay here and chase my dreams on the vast stage of the Chinese mainland."

In recent years, tens of thousands of Taiwan youth like Wang have made their way to the mainland to pursue their studies or develop their careers. In pursuit of their personal aspirations, they have emerged as a driving force for the peaceful and integrated development of cross-Strait relations.

Wang's choice to stay on the mainland after graduation is influenced not just by witnessing its rapid development but also by the policies adopted to bolster employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young individuals from Taiwan.

The mainland's multi-tiered capital market system is constantly improving, with a financial market size much larger than that of Taiwan, he said.

"I aspire to seize this opportunity and achieve significant personal growth," he added.

Fujian Province, where Wang is studying, has been designated as a demonstration zone for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait. A variety of initiatives have been taken to encourage individuals from Taiwan to study and work in Fujian.

Measures have been introduced to facilitate the lives of Taiwan compatriots in Fujian, including enhanced institutional support for their employment, healthcare, housing, elderly care and social assistance.

As the year comes to a close, 30-year-old Taiwan youth Ella Tsai finds herself busier than ever.

In addition to managing her family's factory that manufactures "guzheng," a Chinese zither, in southwest China's Guizhou Province, she is also preparing for a cross-Strait guzheng cultural event set to be held in the province next year.

It has been over 10 years since Tsai left Taiwan for the mainland to pursue her studies and she has now settled in the Wumeng Mountains in Guizhou.

Having blended well into the local environment after living there for several years, Tsai is now planning on how to incorporate the local ethnic minority culture into her own career.

"Guizhou is an inspiring land of art as it boasts various intangible cultural heritage items, such as embroidery and silver handicrafts of the Miao ethnic group, as well as wax dyeing," said Tsai.

She also expressed hope of contributing to cultural and artistic exchanges across the Taiwan Strait in the future.

In recent years, the mainland has been building platforms for more and more youths from Taiwan to find their own development opportunities. Over 70 cross-Strait youth employment and entrepreneurship bases and demonstration sites have been established on the mainland.

For many people, Yunjin, also known as Yun brocade, was once considered ancient and obscure, as it rarely featured in the lives of ordinary people.

In recent years, however, a young curator from Taiwan has popularized the 1,600-year-old craft through innovative efforts, making it a trending topic on social media and helping change the public's stereotypical view concerning traditional Yunjin culture.

Jian Mingwei has been fond of Chinese culture since childhood. After settling down on the Chinese mainland in 2008, he has been working on promoting intangible cultural heritage.

Jian now serves as curator of the Yun Brocade Museum in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province. To better introduce the exquisite and elegant Yun brocade, he led his team to roll out promotion plans and measures, catering to the younger generation, including designing cultural and creative products and cooperating with fashion brands.

While fulfilling his own career, Jian also hopes that foreign friends can deepen their understanding of Chinese traditional culture through Yunjin.

"We are planning to let more people know about Yunjin as well as its culture, enhancing our cultural confidence," Jian said, while also calling for joint efforts from both sides of the Strait, especially the younger generation, to promote Chinese culture to the world.