Overseas Chinese inspired by latest Xi-Ma meeting

Many overseas Chinese in the United States, especially those from Taiwan, felt inspired by the meeting on Wednesday between Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, in Beijing, calling it “a milestone and a fresh start”.

During the meeting with Ma and members of a Taiwan youth delegation, who were visiting the Chinese mainland on an 11-day trip, Xi emphasized several times that “compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same Chinese nation”, “people on both sides of the Strait are all Chinese”, and “there are no knots that cannot be untied, no issues that cannot be discussed, and no forces that can separate us”.

Beijing’s message is loud and clear, said Zhang Ruwei, a community leader in the San Francisco Bay Area. “It is the reiteration of adhering to the 1992 Consensus which embodies the one-China principle, the key to promoting peaceful development of crossStrait relations.”

Meanwhile, “we can feel the tremendous efforts Beijing has made to highlight the ‘kinship’ and ‘affection’ in a ‘family’ — all in all, it is the shared culture, tradition and history that define who are Chinese”, and “the statement leaves no room for any foreign forces that want to interfere in China’s internal affairs”, he said.

It is noticeable that on the Qingming Festival, or TombSweeping Day, which fell on April 4, “Ma paid his first in-person tribute to the ancestral Emperor Huangdi at his mausoleum in Shaanxi province, which is also the first such in-person tribute by a former Taiwan island leader”, Zhang said.

Ma’s tribute signifies the importance and necessity for Chinese across the Strait to remember their shared origins, honor common ancestors and respect national traditions that have lasted for thousands of years, Zhang added.

Betty Yuan, one of the founding members of the Chinese Peaceful Unification of Northern California, who is from Taiwan, said, “It seems to me the Taiwan Strait will no longer be an obstacle preventing Chinese on both sides from reunification.”

Watching the livestream meeting between Xi and Ma in Beijing made her emotional, Yuan said. “They are so close to each other, the table is like the Taiwan Strait — narrow, shallow and can be crossed easily.”

Over the years, Yuan has been a strong advocate of the 1992 Consensus, and a persevering voice against “Taiwan independence”. With thousands of overseas Chinese, she has participated in protests in the US against Taiwan separatist leaders, including Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian and Tsai Ing-wen.

“It was encouraging to see Xi and Ma meet in Beijing for the first time since they met in Singapore in 2015. It is especially inspiring to hear that Ma pledged to stick to the 1992 Consensus,” Yuan said.

David Shu, an immigrant from Shandong province who married a Taiwan woman, said members of the Taiwan youth delegation can be messengers to share with their Taiwan peers that “the mainland has always kept the welfare of Taiwan compatriots in mind, sharing the opportunities from Chinese modernization and the achievements of development and progress of the mainland with them”, as Xi mentioned during the meeting.

Shu said he was happy to see that there were 20 Taiwan students in the delegation. “I believe exchanges and collaboration between youths (across the Strait) should continue, and it will yield abundant fruits because there is goodwill and faith among young compatriots in Taiwan,” he added.

“When I visited Taiwan, many times young people there offered assistance when I got lost, or needed to locate a public bathroom,” he said.

Once, a young man working in a coffee shop in Taipei accompanied him several blocks to make sure he could find the subway station. “He recognized my mainland accent. A flicker beamed in his eyes,” Shu recalled. “During the walk, he asked me many questions about the mainland, such as the social media apps, online payment and shared bikes.”

Marilyn Librers, former mayor and current city council member of Morgan Hill, California, said the US needs to respect the stance of China regarding its handling of the Taiwan question. “It is critical and the core interest of the Chinese people.”

The wheels of history are rolling toward the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and neither the pro-independence forces in Taiwan nor external interference can hold back the historical trend of national reunification.

The obstacle delaying the realization of that inevitability is the actions of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities on the island, who refuse to accept that “Taiwan independence” is nothing but a figment of their imaginings, as the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are united by bloodlines, the same cultural roots and their common history.

This has been highlighted once again in recent days by the visit to the Chinese mainland by a delegation of youths from the island led by former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang party Ma Yingjeou, which wrapped up an 11-day trip on Thursday.

This is the second time Ma has led a delegation of Taiwan youths on a visit to the mainland, highlighting that the driving force for improved crossStrait relations lies in the youth of both sides, who shoulder the responsibility to be friendly and work together for the good of the Chinese nation.

The visiting delegation had a busy itinerary. Before arriving in Beijing, they visited Guangdong and Shaanxi provinces, paying tribute to the Yellow Emperor at his mausoleum and visiting other historic sites, as well as forging ties with mainland universities.

Such exchanges that continue the interactions between the two sides in education, business and culture are instrumental to strengthening crossStrait bonds as they are a reminder that both sides of the Strait belong to one Chinese nation.

Ma’s personal efforts in this regard are noteworthy and he should be praised for promoting crossStrait exchanges, especially those between the youth on both sides of the Strait.

At a time when cross-Strait ties are strained, and sometimes turbulent, thanks to the current Taiwan authorities’ pro-independence stance and deeds, endeavors such as Ma’s are worth cherishing as they contribute to further consolidating awareness of there being but one China, and thus, form a strong foundation for opposing “Taiwan independence”.

The separatist forces on the island should realize they are pursuing a lost cause, as no matter which external forces they are willing to sell their souls to fabricate a cross-Strait division, their reckless pursuit of separating Taiwan from the motherland runs counter to the natural law that blood is thicker than water.

Worse, by constantly stoking tensions in the Taiwan Strait, they have provided a ready excuse for outside forces to meddle in China’s internal affairs. This was highlighted again on Thursday by the Foreign Ministry issuing a notice that Beijing was taking countermeasures against US companies that have been selling arms to the DPP.

Such external interference in China’s internal affairs cannot change the objective fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same nation.

To give greater impetus to the historical trend of national reunification more needs to be done to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations. In this regard, the youth on both sides of the Strait should play a bigger role.