New media contributes to cross-Strait understanding

The rapid development of new media on the Chinese mainland has attracted young people in Taiwan to seek opportunities by sharing their stories online, which has also helped people on both sides to understand each other.

Chen Chu-ying, a martial arts actress from Taiwan who came to the mainland in 2020, has accumulated 500,000 followers on her social media account in two years.

"I hope to better tell China's stories from the unique perspective of a young person from Taiwan," she said at a forum held in Xiamen, Fujian province, over the weekend to discuss cross-Strait new media cooperation.

More than 200 people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, including young online influencers and other new media practitioners, attended the forum, which was a sideline activity of the 15th Straits Forum, a large cross-Strait exchange event held in Fujian.

Tsai Ju-yu, a young person from Taiwan who has lived on the mainland for six years and has used social media to share her passion for tea culture, said, "Young people on both sides of the Strait get to know each other's more real appearance through new media."

Liu Te-wen, a community leader in Taiwan, made use of the mainland social media platform Douyin to help more than 110 Taiwan veterans, who moved from the mainland to Taiwan decades ago, reunite with their families.

Liu, a Taiwan local, is dedicated to helping his community and felt compelled to help veterans in need after he befriended many of them in his role as a community leader.

Ma Xiaoguang, deputy head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, said that the internet and new media platforms have become a major channel for people in Taiwan to get to know the real situation on the mainland.

The mainland is willing to promote more cooperation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait on the internet and new media industries as they are beneficial for cross-Strait exchanges, he said.

In recent years, thanks to the rapid rise of the mainland's new media industry and influential commercial online platforms, more excellent new media products have been widely received on both sides of the Strait, Ma said.

"We are willing to share development opportunities with Taiwan compatriots, continue to promote relevant exchanges and cooperation, and jointly build the cross-Strait internet industry chain to achieve mutual benefit," he said.