When they came to the mainland, they witnessed the rapid development and progress of the motherland, made new friends, condensed new emotions, and felt the enthusiasm and warmth of their compatriots. They are the "communicators" of cross-strait integration and development, and the "disseminators" of positive energy. The voices of young people on both sides of the strait should be listened to by you and me. China News Network specially launched the "Youth Listening • Cross-Strait" integrated media column to jointly record the true voices of young people on both sides of the strait.

China News Network, July 7 (Ma Zhuang, Chen Wentao) Because of his coincidental contact with public welfare undertakings, Taiwanese youth Xiao Jiayao has embarked on the road of public welfare. He learned sign language from scratch, building bridges between silent and audible worlds... Recently, he was a guest on the China News Network "Qinglisten, Cross-Strait" column, sharing his story of building a bridge of communication for the hearing-impaired.

Xiao Jiayao was a guest on the China News Network's "Qinglisten, Cross-Strait" column. Photo by Li Jun

At a cross-strait exchange event, Xiao Jiayao met Li Shaowei, the founder of Rainbow Angel Cafe, by chance. Rainbow Angel Coffee House was founded by Taiwan compatriot Li Shaowei, hearing-impaired young people can participate in baking skills training for free, in the eyes of everyone, this coffee house brings together love and kindness from both sides of the strait.

The first from the left is Xiao Jiayao. Photo courtesy of me

With the encouragement of Li Shaowei, Xiao Jiayao overcame the communication barrier with the hearing impaired and participated in more public welfare activities. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, as the vice captain of the Taiwan Youth City Volunteer Service Team of the Beijing Winter Olympics, he became a "bridge" between the Winter Olympics events and Beijing citizens, and took the hearing-impaired people of Rainbow Angel Coffee House to participate in volunteer service.

The first on the right is Xiao Jiayao. Photo courtesy of me

Volunteering for the disabled requires high professional ability, and Xiao Jiayao has never stopped working hard. He has been using text, gestures and special assistive software to accurately communicate with the hearing impaired. According to Xiao Jiayao's recollection, during the Winter Olympics, he relied on his professional skills to communicate with them efficiently, smoothly carried out task explanations, business training, etc., so that this special group of volunteers adapted to their roles one step faster.

Among them, Xiao Jiayao was impressed by inviting the hearing-impaired people in the coffee house to learn how to do CPR, and he patiently used words, gestures and mobile phone listening and dictation software to teach hearing-impaired people how to operate CPR.

It was the successful completion of this event that inspired Xiao Jiayao, who mentioned that "from that moment on, I seriously felt that there is no hurdle that cannot be crossed". In his opinion, as a "bridge" connecting the sound world and the silent world, it is worth bravely crossing the hurdle and trying. He has also taken the initiative to participate in various activities organized by the coffee house to contribute to the cause of helping the disabled.

Xiao Jiayao mentioned that the purpose of joining the ranks of volunteers is to hope that more people can see these hearing-impaired people, so that everyone can realize that there are still many people with difficulties in life in society, and a group of special teenagers are also looking forward to growing up and eager to be valued.

In Xiao Jiayao's view, as a young man in Taiwan and as a member of the development of the motherland, he is like a small screw, but he also plays a certain role in the tide of the development of the motherland. (End)