Chinese mainland to expand opportunities for cross-Strait youth

The Chinese mainland will create more opportunities for young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to flourish, injecting youthful vitality into the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and national reunification, a senior mainland official said Friday.

Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at the ninth cross-Strait youth development forum, which opened Friday in Hangzhou, in east China's Zhejiang Province. The event attracted more than 1,000 guests and youth representatives from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

The official urged youth on both sides of the strait to embrace high aspirations, bravely shoulder the responsibilities of the times and build a consensus to protect peace in their common homeland.

During a meeting with Hung Hsiu-chu, former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang party in Hangzhou on the same day, Song expressed the hope that compatriots on both sides of the strait, especially the youth, will stand firm as advocates for exchanges and integration, steadfast guardians of the common homeland and resolute contributors to national rejuvenation.

At the forum, Hung also voiced her expectation that young people from both sides of the strait will break down prejudice and barriers, build bridges for exchanges, join hands to safeguard peace, and promote cross-Strait integration and peaceful reunification through concrete actions.

(Cover: Young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait participate in a rugby match in Fuzhou, China, July 13, 2026. /VCG)