Mainland China to send academic group to Taiwan after 3-year pause
- The students and faculty members will travel at the invitation of organisation led by former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou
- The trip comes as Beijing advocates for more exchanges with the island amid growing cross-strait tensions
The Ma Ying-jeou Foundation invited a delegation of 36 students and faculty members from five mainland universities to visit the island for nine days starting on Saturday, he said.
“We support and encourage the strengthening of interactions between young people from both sides of the strait, fostering mutual understanding and learning through exchange and cooperation, and working together to create a bright future,” Chen said.
The mainland delegation will include members from the two most prestigious universities in the country, Peking University and Tsinghua University, as well as three universities Ma visited during his private trip – Fudan University, Wuhan University and Hunan University.
During the visit, the mainland academics will engage in exchanges with Taiwanese institutions including National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, Chinese Culture University and Donghua University, it said.
They will also visit several cities and counties in Taiwan, including capital city Taipei, Taichung, New Taipei, Hsinchu and Hualien county.
The trip comes as Beijing advocates for more people-to-people exchanges amid growing cross-strait tensions.
“Friendship with people from all social strata in Taiwan should be cultivated,” he said, according to CCTV.
Despite Beijing’s calls for more people-to-people exchanges, Taiwan’s ruling DPP has remained cautious in this regard. Ma’s recent visit, though private, was seen as politically charged, leading some to question whether he was a political tool for Beijing.
Taiwan faces a growing military threat from Beijing, which sees the island as a breakaway territory that must be brought back under its control, by force if necessary.
Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but oppose any forcible change in the status quo.