Culture, kinship ease passage across Strait

They have launched a cross-Strait exchange base in Chengnei to receive more visits from Taiwan and have organized activities such as temple fairs so visitors can experience local customs. They have raised two cats in the village and named them "Brother Fujian" and "Sister Taiwan".

More people from Taiwan have moved to Fujian as the province offers a variety of incentives — in addition to its close geographical proximity — to cross the Strait and settle down.

The Chinese character rong, which refers to cross-Strait integration, was chosen as the 2023 character across the Taiwan Strait. About 15 million netizens participated in the recent vote.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the character represents "the heartfelt desire of compatriots on both sides to achieve peace, development, communication and cooperation".

In September, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, China's Cabinet, jointly issued a circular, saying the country will make Fujian a demonstration zone for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.

The objective, said the circular, is to make Fujian the first-choice destination for Taiwan residents and enterprises to pursue development on the mainland, advancing the peaceful reunification of the motherland.