The view from both sides of the Straits

Yin Min-chi, a 19-year-old journalism major at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Iwas born in Taiwan but raised in the mainland from an early age, so I understand life on both sides of the Straits very well. More than 20 years ago, my mother, who is from Taiwan, met my father when she was working in the Shanghai office of a Taiwan business. Dad was a local man, but after they married, my parents moved to Taiwan.

In 2003, they decided to return to Shanghai, so I attended schools in the city from the age of 5, just like other kids on the mainland.

However, my mother brought me up like any other kid from Taiwan, and we had access to the island’s television channels at home.

Kids from Taiwan whose parents work in the mainland are a special group because we feel different from Taiwan residents and local Chinese.

As someone from Taiwan, the everyday way of doing things in the mainland constantly reminds me that I come from a different environment.

However, every time I visit my hometown in Taiwan, I doubt myself because I feel that I have a different way of thinking from my peers.

When I was young, they called me “Shanghai girl” for fun.

At the time, the mainland was not as developed as Taiwan, and the kids believed the stereotype that people from the mainland were unsophisticated.

When I was younger, I worried a lot every time I encountered differences when I went back to Taiwan, but now I just feel sorry that some people there are shallow-minded and live in their own small worlds.

My experiences have helped me to understand both sides better, which is a valuable asset for a kid from Taiwan who grew up in the mainland.

Yin Min-chi spoke with Zhang Yi.