Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council： Cross-strait personnel exchanges and exchanges in various fields have rapidly warmed up and maintained a good momentum this summer.
International Online News (Reporter Ma Xiaoye): On September 13th, the Taiwan Province Affairs Office of the State Council held a regular press conference. In response to a reporter’s question, spokesman Chen Binhua said that cross-strait personnel exchanges and exchanges in various fields have rapidly warmed up and maintained a good momentum this summer.
A reporter asked: After three years of epidemic, cross-strait exchanges have gradually warmed up this year. Please tell the spokesman about cross-strait personnel exchanges and exchanges in various fields this summer.
Chen Binhua replied that since the beginning of this year, we have timely optimized and adjusted the epidemic prevention and control measures involving cross-strait personnel exchanges, promoted the "mini-three links" and the resumption of direct flights between the two sides of the strait, and announced the resumption of group tours for Taiwan Province residents to the mainland. Cross-strait exchanges in various fields have rapidly warmed up and maintained a good momentum. In the first half of the year, the number of Taiwan compatriots coming to the mainland increased seven times compared with the same period last year. Especially after entering the summer vacation, cross-strait exchanges have become more enthusiastic, and the enthusiasm and enthusiasm of Taiwan Province people to participate in cross-strait exchanges are high. Generally speaking, it has the following main characteristics:
First, young people have become the most active group in cross-strait exchanges, and the contents and forms of cross-strait youth exchanges are rich and diverse. On July 12th, 2023, the Cross-Strait Youth Summit opened in Beijing. Nearly 1,200 young people from Taiwan Province participated in the summer party of the Music Carnival, the vitality exhibition of scientific and technological achievements, the innovation and entrepreneurship competition and other activities. The 2023 Cross-Strait Youth Culture Month lasted from late July to mid-September, and nearly 1,500 Taiwan Province youths participated in 21 theme activities, including intangible cultural heritage, calligraphy and painting, and traditional Chinese medicine. On August 5th, the 11th Straits Youth Festival opened in Fuzhou, Fujian, and more than 1,400 Taiwan Province youths participated in various activities. In addition, the first cross-strait youth cycling on the Grand Canal and the 2023 cross-strait youth innovation and entrepreneurship competition also attracted a large number of young people from Taiwan Province.
Second, cross-strait exchanges have broken through the obstacles set by the DPP authorities and achieved "two-way travel." As a return visit arrangement for Mr. Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to the mainland to pay homage to his ancestors, from July 15th to 23rd, Hao Ping, secretary of the Party Committee of Peking University, led teachers and students from five universities, including Peking University, to visit Taiwan on invitation to carry out a trip to promote cross-strait youth friendship and promote cross-strait cultural and educational exchanges. In July and August, the 14th Cross-Strait Film Exhibition was held in Taipei and Ya ‘an, Sichuan, with 8 mainland films and 6 Taiwan Province films respectively. On July 14th, 62 mainland tourists went to Taiwan to participate in the Taipei Summer Travel Exhibition on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, which was the largest number of mainland tourists visiting the island in recent years.
Third, cross-strait cultural exchanges are splendid, and Chinese excellent traditional culture and trend culture are increasingly loved by compatriots on both sides of the strait. The 7th Cross-Strait Yuefei Cultural Summer Camp, the 8th Chinese Cultural Heritage Training Camp, the 2023 Cross-Strait Archaeological Training Camp and the 12th Cross-Strait Cultural Heritage Protection Forum were held successively. Nearly 50 writers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait gathered at the 2023 Cross-Strait Literature Exchange Conference to collect ideas and exchange ideas in Zhejiang and Fujian. In 2023, the Cross-Strait Dragon and Lion Dance Competition was held in Zhangping. More than 230 players from 13 teams across the Taiwan Strait competed on the same stage. The 4th Cross-Strait Youth Network Literature Competition, "Huihai 2023 Cross-Strait E-sports Culture Festival" and the Cross-Strait Youth Street Dance Art Festival are welcomed by compatriots on both sides of the strait.
Fourth, cross-strait cultural industry cooperation has achieved fruitful results. The 14th Cross-Strait Cultural Fair was held in Xiamen, and the exhibition scale reached a new high, including 883 booths in Taiwan Province, up 48% from the previous one. During the conference, 77 cultural and tourism investment projects were signed, with a total contracted amount of 28.1 billion yuan, on-site transaction volume of 2.8 billion yuan and 120,000 visitors.
In the middle and late September, there will be a number of cross-strait cultural exchange activities. The first Cross-Strait Animation Dubbing Competition is being conducted online and offline. As of yesterday (September 12th), 2,852 entries were received, including 521 works by Taiwan Province. The 3rd IM Cross-Strait Youth Film Festival is being held in Pingtan, Fujian, and 1,849 works from 331 universities at home and abroad have been collected, among which 121 works were submitted by 27 universities in Taiwan Province, and 15 works were shortlisted for awards. In addition, from September 18 to 28, the 2023 escort tour of Meizhou Mazu by compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits was held in Putian, Fujian. From September 21st to 23rd, the 2023 Zhouyi Cultural Forum across the Taiwan Straits was held in Anyang, Henan. From September 21st to 27th, the 11th Central Plains (Gushi) Roots Culture Festival was held in Xinyang, Henan. We sincerely welcome compatriots on both sides of the strait to pay attention to relevant activities, participate in cross-strait cultural exchanges, and jointly inherit and carry forward China’s excellent traditional culture.
Reporting/feedback