Fuzhou will speed up the construction of the first home for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises to land in the mainland of China.

A Fuzhou-Taiwan family on both sides of Taiwan strait has taken a big step towards.

Fuzhou will speed up the construction of the first home for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises to land in the mainland of China.

Compatriots on both sides of the strait are originally a family connected by blood, with hearts and feelings. The shallow strait of the bay is difficult to separate them, and it is even more difficult to separate the blood tie.

"Building the first home for Taiwan compatriots and Taiwanese enterprises to land" and "exploring a new road for cross-strait integration and development" are the things that General Secretary Xi Jinping is longing for. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Fuzhou has kept in mind the entrustment, and with its unique geographical advantages, it has actively practiced the concept of "one family on both sides of the Taiwan Straits", making great strides in the exchanges between Fujian and Taiwan.

Looking back on the past ten years, we are delighted to see that Taiwan people living in Fujian are more comfortable, economic and trade cooperation between Taiwan and Fujian is closer, and cross-strait non-governmental exchanges are deeper. Fuzhou, a pilot city, has accelerated the construction of a pioneering city for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises to land in their first homes, and achieved good results.

Taiwan youth visited Taiwan Community Apartment in Fuzhou.

Photographed by reporter Chi Yuan

Implement equal treatment

Taiwan people living in Fuzhou are more comfortable.

In September 2018, Taiwan compatriot Chen Yiting received the first residence permit of Taiwan Province residents in Fujian Province at Fuzhou Nanjie Police Station. From the "Taiwan compatriots certificate" to the residence permit, it means that the original inconvenience has disappeared, and the certified Taiwan compatriots basically achieve the same treatment as local residents.

In the past ten years, Fuzhou has actively practiced the concept of "one family on both sides of the Taiwan Straits", and successively promoted the introduction of "68+6+43+21+19" series of measures to benefit Taiwan and the people, covering the employment and entrepreneurship of Taiwan youth, cultural exchanges between Fujian and Taiwan, equal treatment of Taiwan compatriots and enterprises, and other fields, many of which were initiated by the mainland of China.

Adhering to the spirit of "benefiting Taiwan compatriots like serving the mainland people", Fuzhou actively promoted the implementation of these measures. In the past ten years, every Taiwan compatriot in Fujian has been telling the story of "a family on both sides of the strait" with his own personal experience. They are all practitioners and contributors to the integration and development of Fujian and Taiwan.

In Taiwan compatriots' public rental housing in Jin'an District, windows display the warm lights. Zou Xian, an "old resident", said, "The traffic here is convenient, the property management company is very considerable, and the Taiwan compatriots live together, and the atmosphere is very good." In order to make it easier for Taiwan compatriots to live and work in peace and contentment, Fuzhou provides them with 1,050 sets of public rental housing, and at present, 194 Taiwan compatriots from 135 households have been accommodated.

Meicheng Impression Historical and Cultural Block in Minqing County witnessed the footsteps of Taiwan Province youth's dream-seeking. In 2018, Taiwan youth Zeng Zhiying led eight Taiwan Province youths to set up camp in the local area and participate in the renovation of the neighborhood. The "Meicheng impression" made her famous, and after that, she constantly brought the experience of Taiwan Province to the mainland to help more villages revitalize.

Like Zeng Zhiying's team, more and more planning designers and cultural creative teams in Taiwan Province are actively involved in the construction of more than 30 beautiful countryside and characteristic towns in Fuzhou. Nowadays, Fuzhou's vast countryside has become a fertile land for Taiwan Province youth to chase dream.

Guo Yifan, who runs a cafe in Fuzhou, Su Baiying, who is engaged in the display target material industry, and Li Jiarong, who runs a farm with her mother... Taiwan youths are constantly opening up a new stage in Fuzhou, sharing the development opportunities of the mainland in all directions. Fuzhou timely introduced policies and measures to encourage and support Taiwan Province's youth entrepreneurship and employment, and established a joint conference mechanism and entrepreneurship service center to protect the employment and entrepreneurship of Taiwan compatriots.

Promotion and connection

Fuzhou-Taiwan has closer economic and trade cooperation.

Today, TPV Technology has grown from a little-known display factory to a world-leading intelligent manufacturer of LCD and TV. The production and sales of LCD has been the first in the world for a long time, with a market share of over 30%.

The stories of established Taiwanese companies are still being told, and rising stars are beginning to write new legends. Unicon, a Taiwan-funded enterprise that landed in Fuzhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone in 2019, is sprinting towards the largest contact lens R&D and production base in mainland China. Liang Biao, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said, "We really feel the potential of development in the mainland, and the strong support of Fuzhou makes us feel the sense of gain in the development of Fuzhou."

Fuzhou innovatively established the joint meeting system of investment promotion commissioners in Taiwan Province, hired 17 investment promotion commissioners from Taiwan compatriots, and gradually established docking links with major industrial and commercial organizations on the island, such as the TEEMA, the General Chamber of Commerce, and the Industrial and Commercial Research Institute. Economic and trade cooperation channels are smoother, and a number of important Taiwan-funded projects such as Unicon Optics, Trillion Optoelectronics, Xinrui Precision and Hengmei Polarizer have landed in Fuzhou one after another.

The CFET has been successfully held for 23 times, and it has become an influential large-scale comprehensive investment and trade exhibition on both sides of the Taiwan Straits and an important experimental platform for the pilot test of Taiwan's economic and trade policies. The exhibitions are getting more and more exciting and fruitful. Every year at the CFET, Taiwanese businessmen gather, looking for the latest business opportunities, knowing the latest policies and reaching the best cooperation.

The channels of cooperation are smooth, the communication platform is bigger, and there are more innovative measures. Since its establishment, Fuzhou Area of Fujian Free Trade Zone has launched 24 innovative measures to facilitate trade with Taiwan, among which 13 measures, such as the establishment of a verification mechanism for certificates of origin with Taiwan, were initiated by the mainland. The cross-border e-commerce business between Fujian and Taiwan is also growing. In 2021, the import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce to Taiwan exceeded RMB 4.5 billion.

Brand building activities

Cross-strait non-governmental exchanges have deepened.

The exchanges between Fuzhou and Taiwan are becoming more and more frequent, so there are naturally more influential brands of characteristic exchanges.

The most influential brand is the Straits Youth Day. Since the first Cross-Strait Youth Day was held in 2013, nearly 30,000 young people from both sides of the Taiwan Straits have been attracted, including about 14,000 young people from Taiwan, and more than 50% of them came to the mainland for the first time. In 2021, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council praised the Strait Youth Festival as an opportunity for cross-strait youth exchanges.

In the first month of this year, the 20th "Mawei-Mazu Lantern Festival" was held under the Luoxing Tower in Mawei as scheduled. The lantern festival with "Fu" culture, with 4 chapters and 43 groups of lamps, once again ignited the strong nostalgia of the two places. Since the event was held in 2003, rain or shine, it has become more exciting every year.

Up to now, a total of 57 activities in Fuzhou have been listed by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council as key exchange projects with Taiwan, and 22 brand exchange activities with Taiwan characteristics, such as "Two Horses in the Spring Festival", Cross-Strait Folk Culture Festival, and ship administration culture exchange with Taiwan, have been created. These activities with the characteristics of Fuzhou and Taiwan and historical origins are popular among the people, all of which prove that the two sides of the strait share the same root and origin, and share the same culture and ancestry.

A family on both sides of the strait hand in hand to write a new chapter. The pace of exchanges between Fuzhou and Taiwan is getting bigger, and the new road of cross-strait integration and development is getting wider.