Taiwan's DPP lashed for obstructing youth exchanges with mainland

BEIJING -- Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority has deliberately obstructed youth exchanges with the mainland and damaged their right to more development opportunities, a Chinese mainland spokesperson said Thursday.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks in response to claims that the mainland-held events, including cross-Straits live broadcast contests and training of young anchorpersons from Taiwan, were the mainland's "campaign" to woo people from the island.

Fearing that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are getting closer to each other and that Taiwan people will know the true conditions on the mainland, the DPP authority has prioritized its own selfish interests and nature of seeking "Taiwan independence" and made malicious efforts to impede exchanges across the Strait, Zhu said.

Such moves have undermined the legitimate rights and interests of the youth on the island in seeking more and better personal development opportunities, she said.

The flourishing online livestreaming industry on the mainland, represented by e-commerce live broadcasts, proved effective in boosting the economy's internal circulation last year, Zhu said.

Citing figures, she noted that the mainland's online livestreaming users totaled 617 million as of December 2020, including 388 million e-commerce live broadcast users.

Cross-Straits live broadcast events provide great opportunities, as well as a platform, for youth from Taiwan who are interested in entrepreneurship and employment in the e-commerce live broadcast sector and have been well received by them, the spokesperson added.

It remains the mainland's consistent stand to support and encourage exchanges between people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, especially the young, and see them better understand each other and join hands for development, she said.