40 Yrs Since Message to Compatriots in Taiwan: Kunshan: 'Little Taipei' on the Chinese mainland

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02:56

Kunshan - a small city in east China's Jiangsu Province - has the nickname "Little Taipei". More than 100-thousand Taiwan people work and live there. In the forty years since the mainland's reform and opening up policy, Kunshan has grown from a farming area to one of the most developed county-level cities in China. Take a look.

In the 1980s, Kunshan was a small county covering 4-square kilometers, surrounded by farm land.

Fast forward to today, it has been built into a dynamic and bustling city, with high rises filling its skyline. Taiwan people have been an integral part of the city's fast growth.

Kunshan received its first batch of investment from Taiwan in 1990.

So far, more than 4,800 companies invested by Taiwan business people have settled here.

More than 70 out of Taiwan's top 100 manufacturing companies have invested in Kunshan, contributing some 70 percent of the city's economy.

Based on the 31 Preferential Policies for Taiwan issued by mainland authorities, the local government has expanded their list of offerings to attract Taiwan investment.

CHAO CHI-HSIN, DIRECTOR KUNSHAN BRANCH, CHANG HWA BANK "We were the first Taiwan-funded bank to set up a representative office on the Chinese mainland in 2002. The 31 Preferential Policies for Taiwan are implemented and reflected in the 68 local preferential policies by Kunshan, which encourage us to carry out small loan business, for both Taiwan-funded and local firms."

Aside from business, people from Taiwan have also engaged in local cultural exchanges, with the support from the city government.

Hung Dunyuan is now working as a composer and a conductor for the Kunshan modern Kun Opera Theater.

His father founded the Taiwan Kun Opera Troupe in 1999, which laid the foundation for cross-strait exchanges over this type of traditional Chinese opera that originated in Kunshan.

He is among the three young people brought from Taiwan by the theater.

HUNG DUNYUAN, COMPOSER, CONDUCTOR KUNSHAN MODERN KUN OPERA THEATER "Kunshan is the home of the Kun Opera. This theater is a very good platform to work at, with government support. Many people are trying to work here. This is just like a young city moving forward every day."

For the Taiwan people here, Kunshan is more than a place where they want to invest or work, it's also their home away from home.

There are schools for children whose parents come from Taiwan, and the medical insurance also covers treatment provided by Taiwan-funded hospitals.

A Mazu temple, and other customs and cultural activities of Taiwan can also be found here.

And all of these make "Little Taipei" a fitting nickname for Kunshan.