2023-06-22 01:08:14
The 15th Straits Forum kicks off in Xiamen, Fujian province on June 16, 2023. Photo: VCG
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, called on people across the Taiwan Strait to work together to follow the trends of history, safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation, and contribute to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the cause of national reunification.
The remarks were made in his congratulatory letter on Saturday to the 15th Straits Forum being held in Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province.
Calling the Strait Forum an important platform for people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to broadly engage in exchanges and promote cooperation, Xi expressed hope that the forum will constantly inject vitality. in people-to-people exchanges and integrated development across the strait. .
We will continue to respect, care for and provide benefits to Taiwan compatriots, promote cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, and push forward integrated development in various fields, he said.
Lei Chien, a member of the National Women’s League (in Taiwan) and a former member of the island’s legislature, told media at the forum that she was impressed by Xi’s deep hope for peaceful development in Taiwan. across the strait and goodwill for Taiwan.
The authorities of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and some forces of the international community have described the cross-strait situation as being on the verge of military conflict, but the congratulatory letter and the whole forum indicate that more people are actively struggling to peace, Lei told China Direct during the forum’s main conference on Saturday. She further pointed out that the mainland has mastered the direction of peaceful development.
Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, addressed the main conference during which he announced that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have decided to support the efforts of the Fujian in exploring and establishing the province as a demonstration area for cross-straits integrated development.
People across the strait should firmly uphold integrated development and common prosperity, resolutely oppose the evil path of seeking independence with foreign support, and create clashes and conflicts, Ms. .Wang. He criticized secessionist forces for creating division, tension and the risk of military conflict across the strait.
Justin Lin Yifu, former chief economist of the World Bank and professor of economics at Peking University, gave a keynote address at the main conference, in which he said that although the world is experiencing turbulence and geopolitical crises such as the Sino-American tensions, when China’s GDP per capita reaches 50% of that of the United States, the world order will be stabilized once more.
Lin predicted that at that time, China’s economic size will be twice that of the United States, and in developed regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta region and the the greater Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay, GDP per capita will reach levels comparable to that of the United States.
Lin urged Taiwan compatriots to seize the golden opportunity presented by the mainland’s development, citing his personal experience of fleeing from Kinmen County, which is under the control of Taiwanese authorities, to Xiamen in 1979, and how he became the first World Bank chief economist from a developing country. He used this example to explain that the destinies, values and dreams of individuals will be realized and maximized through the development of the homeland.
Shou Yan-xuan, who heads a medical group in Xiamen, shared his own perspective. After embarking on a career on the mainland, he discovered the mainland’s rich history, culture and rapid progress in science and economics, which is very different from what he had learned on the island.
Shou called on young people in Taiwan to come and see with their own eyes. “The continent’s potential and future are beyond your imagination,” he said.
Participants from various sectors in Taiwan, including the business community, delegates from political parties, media personnel, religious figures and representatives of grassroots civil organizations, shared with China Direct their expectations for the future of cross-strait integration. Many of them met their friends on the mainland following COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and trade normalized.
Zheng Bo-yu, vice president of the Taiwan Youth Council Beijing Association for Taiwan Enterprises, told China Direct on the spot that he was happy to see many participants from all walks of life in Taiwan come to share their stories and learn from each other. friends, which precisely corresponds to President Xi’s expectations for the forum.
Zheng looks forward to more young people born in Taiwan who have established their careers on the mainland to share their stories, as they can be very persuasive to those who are still uncertain regarding their future.
Zheng also hailed the establishment of the demonstration zone, which is expected to introduce more favorable policies to facilitate cross-strait trade. “I plan to set up an office in Fujian because it will be more convenient to do business than from the Beijing office,” Zheng said.
Hsia Li-yan, vice chairman of the Kuomintang, the main opposition party on the island of Taiwan, told the main conference that he hoped cross-strait exchanges might be fully restored to the level before. the COVID-19 pandemic. He also expressed hope for resuming cross-Strait cooperation on crime control, jurisdictional issues and quarantine inspection of agricultural products.
Cross-strait cooperation in these areas has been halted due to the DPP authorities’ refusal to admit the 1992 Consensus and their pursuit of a secessionist agenda with the support of foreign forces. As the DPP authorities show no sincerity in rectifying their grave mistakes, experts have suggested that the mainland may consider resuming local-to-local cooperation with Kuomintang-ruled areas of Taiwan.
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