Cross-Strait relations bear on the lives, development, exchanges and vital interests of people on both Chinese mainland and Taiwan region. Two young Taiwan people living in Beijing expressed their views on Lai Ching-te's visit in the United States and expressed their expectations for the peaceful and stable development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

ZHENG BOYU Vice-president, Taiwan Youth Council Beijing Association for Taiwan Enterprises "The United States deliberately kept Lai Ching-te out of the limelight. This is my own feeling. Because according to Lai's personality, according to his current position, the so-called chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, and the current deputy leader of Taiwan, he should have been more high-profile. And he's up for election next year. But this time it hasn't seemed to help him score points, but instead let the Taiwan people realize that it's only good Cross-Strait relations that can improve the well-being of the Taiwan people.

"So far, nearly two-thirds of Taiwan residents on the island have yet to come to the Chinese mainland. Everyone wants to leave after the pandemic, but can the people of Taiwan only go to Japan, South Korea, Europe, the United States, Southeast Asia? Isn't the Chinese mainland the closest place to us? People on both sides of the Strait share the same language, the same culture, and the same roots.

"I have always encouraged young people from Taiwan to come to the Chinese mainland and put aside their prejudices, see with their eyes, walk with their feet, hear with their ears, and feel with their hearts. Cross-Strait exchanges can always be better."

XU TAO Co-Founder, Beijing Baocase Tech. "I think first of all, the mainland has friendly policies, and second, it has a very good entrepreneurial atmosphere. And the third thing I want to share is that there's a huge market. Take me as an example. At present, our company has recorded one million downloads of apps and 100,000 active members, distributed in more than five major cities in the Chinese mainland, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. And then there are over 8,000 enterprise customers that actually use it every single day. Such a scale, in the Chinese mainland, in fact, is still a small Internet company. But if it is placed in Taiwan, it is quite a big deal. I think the size of the market alone has me doing pretty well right now. And there is still a lot to anticipate, for me, for my team, and my investors.

"For us, I think most people just want to do their own thing, live a better life, make more money, and then have a good family. Of course, we hope for more peaceful development and exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, and we do not want politicians in Taiwan to manipulate ideology and provoke antagonistic emotions. We do not want any political or external interference and influence. I think this is the simplest opinion of the vast majority of people."