China News Service, Beijing, February 18th: Brother, father and daughter team up to fight for Taiwan compatriots to start a new journey in the Year of the Dragon
Author Zhu Helin Shixiong
In the evening of the 17th, the eight-day first Taiwanese Food New Year Festival in Xinjin Bamboo Forest Scenic Area in Chengdu, Sichuan came to an end, marking a successful conclusion to the Spring Festival holiday for the organizer of the event, Li Weiguo of Taiqing.
"Landing in" for nearly ten years, staying behind to celebrate the Spring Festival is nothing new for Li Weiguo. This year is particularly lively and unforgettable. During the holidays, he invited more than 20 Taiwanese food merchants to participate in the market. Some elders have been selling snacks in Baodao for decades, and they made a special trip to "test the water temperature" this time. Having been involved in cross-strait exchanges for many years, Li Weiguo looks forward to more Taiwan compatriots coming to the mainland to seek business opportunities in the new year. “Food is a good entry point.”
On February 10, Taiwanese youth Li Weiguo interacted with tourists at the first Taiwan Food New Year Festival in Xinjin Bamboo Forest Scenic Area, Chengdu, Sichuan. (Photo provided by interviewee)
"Gua Bao is a Taiwanese snack. It looks like a full wallet, which means good luck and wealth. It is especially popular." Li Weiguo told a reporter from China News Service that this food festival will introduce common Taiwanese night market delicacies such as meat paper and hot dog sticks, making it more popular. Visitors can taste the authentic Baodao flavor.
The New Year Shopping Festival kept Li Weiguo so busy that he never touched the ground. It was still a necessary ritual to have a video call with his family on New Year's Eve to wish each other a happy New Year, including his younger brother Li Weibang, who was staying in Xiamen for the New Year, 2,000 kilometers away.
As the project director of Huacan Works, a cross-strait youth entrepreneurship incubator, Li Weibang is also busy with activities during his holidays. Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, he had not been to the mainland for three years. When he returned to Xiamen in June last year, he found that "no matter the market or technological development, the speed of change here is faster than imagined." He became more determined to adapt to the local environment.
Like the Li brothers, many Taiwanese compatriots who worked hard in the mainland came across the sea under the influence of the people around them and gained their own stage and world. The same is true for Beijing Taiqing Liu Yuanyuan and her sisters.
In her early years, when she studied at a university in Beijing, Liu Yuanyuan believed that the training model of mainland medical students helped her accumulate valuable clinical experience. Now that she is a Chinese medicine practitioner, she feels that there are diversified development opportunities.
"Dad has some sentiments and encourages us to visit the mainland." Liu Yuanyuan said. Under the influence, the three daughters of the family went to the mainland to study and find jobs. Liu Yuanyuan's story of hard work also provides a "model" for her sisters. Her elder sister went to Shenzhen to engage in Chinese medicine-related work, while her younger sister studied for a master's degree at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
On February 14, Taiwanese youth Liu Yuanyuan celebrated the New Year in her hometown in Kaohsiung. (Photo provided by interviewee)
When she returned to Taiwan for the Spring Festival this year, Liu Yuanyuan did not take any time off. She provides free clinics for many relatives and friends, which is "like giving back to her hometown." On New Year's Eve, she and her family gather around the stove and make dumplings. The strong New Year flavor makes her feel like she is back when she was a child. "We put peanuts in the dumplings and eat them." People will ask grandma to receive red envelopes." Speaking of New Year's expectations, Liu Yuanyuan hopes to influence more partners and enhance everyone's understanding of Chinese culture and traditional Chinese medicine.
Taiwanese youth Zheng Ailing who stayed in Beijing for the New Year also spent this holiday at work: participating in the park and setting up stalls at the market, feeling the atmosphere of the temple fair amidst the crowds of people; making handmade "phoenixes" with her children to "bring good luck to the dragon and phoenix." . In addition, she also brought New Year dishes to a friend's house in mainland China for dinner to relieve her homesickness and experience the New Year flavor of Beijing in depth.
On February 10, Taiwanese youth Zheng Ailing (right) interacted with children at a market event in Longtan Park, Beijing. (Photo provided by interviewee)
In 2012, Zheng Ailing joined the early education industry in Beijing and found that there was a bright future in aviation model teaching for teenagers, and her parents encouraged her to start her own business independently. At that time, his father, Zheng Fude, had been engaged in the production of model aircraft in Taiwan for more than 40 years. The mass production of model aircraft led to industry transformation and also caused him to encounter a development bottleneck. Zheng Ailing persuaded her father to come to Beijing for a visit. After four years of investigation, Zheng Fude opened a model aircraft teaching studio in Beijing in 2016 and found a "second spring" in his career.
During the epidemic, the father and daughter stayed in Taiwan and returned to Beijing in October last year. Zheng Ailing described it as "finally filling the vacancy in my heart." The new year has begun, and she hopes that the studio will set sail again and continue to promote hand-made aircraft models and related educational concepts. (over)