China News Service, Urumqi, September 12. Title: Taiwanese: Young people are willing to go to the mainland, see the truth, and tell what they see.
Author Li Baijia Li Mingfei
The sixth "Working Together to Realize Dreams—Exchange and Seminar for Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait" was held in Urumqi, Xinjiang from the 11th to the 12th. Many Taiwanese people told reporters from China News Service that despite the restrictions on exchanges with the mainland on the island, more and more Taiwanese young people are willing to go to the mainland, see the truth and tell what they see.
From "wanting to come" to "walking in": the demand for communication continues to grow
Recently, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities have required travel agencies to organize exchanges on the mainland and assist travelers on a group-by-group basis to complete pre-trip registration. Ji Xin, publisher of Taiwan's "Observation" magazine, believes that this is another increase in the mainland's "ban on group travel" that has not yet been lifted, but the deterrent policy has not stopped Taiwanese compatriots from "landing".
"On the plane, there are many tourists from Taiwan; on weekdays, I often hear relatives and friends talking about their trip to the mainland." Ji Xin mentioned that Xinjiang has long been favored by Taiwanese tourists. When the two sides of the Taiwan Strait launched tourist charter flights between Urumqi and Kaohsiung in 2013, the flight occupancy rate was considerable. In the summer of 2024, the sales of air tickets to Xinjiang in the Taiwan market also increased dozens of times.
She believes that the mainland's rich tourism resources continue to attract Taiwanese compatriots, and the demand for cross-strait people-to-people exchanges continues to rise. "Taiwanese people, especially young people, are willing to go to the mainland because they make choices based on their own experience."
From "seeing with your own eyes" to "widely disseminating": Taiwanese youth's knowledge breaks through the information cocoon
More and more young Taiwanese people are recording and telling their personal experiences through videos, live broadcasts and other methods after entering the mainland, and relevant content is widely disseminated through the Internet.
"Their lens language is more vivid than any traditional narrative." Wang Bingzhong, founding chairman of Taiwan's New Chinese Sons and Daughters Association, said that the DPP authorities' manipulation of ideology and constant creation of confrontation have long made the people on the island puzzled as to why they are setting up defenses and attacking the mainland. “These real experiences from first-person perspectives respond to the island’s youth’s thirst for objective information and become an important force in breaking through the information cocoon.”
Individual personal experiences continue to spread through the Internet, producing cross-circle influences. Wang Bingzhong said that as a result, more Taiwanese youth have their own thoughts on cross-strait relations: If they do not move towards integrated development with the mainland, what is the hope for the future of Taiwanese youth? What is Taiwan’s future development prospects?
From “looking at the scenery” to “having a theme”: communication continues to enhance understanding
Perceptions bring cognitive changes, and cross-strait exchanges naturally move toward deeper dialogue on issues. Zheng Qisheng, CEO of the Cross-Strait Integration Society, believes that exchanges around culture, history, science and technology, economics and trade and other issues can promote a deeper understanding of each other among young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and are of special significance.
Su Heng, chairman of the Taiwan-China Strait Economic and Trade Exchange Association, also pointed out that focusing on specific issues can help the Taiwanese people build a clearer "picture" of the future across the Taiwan Strait.
"Only with exchanges can there be understanding, and with understanding can there be further thinking." She said that more Taiwanese young people need to go to the mainland in person, see with their own eyes, use their own experiences, and use independent thinking to study and judge the path forward for both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
