Fujian aims to build bonds with Taiwan

You Quan (left), top leader of Fujian province, gives a volleyball signed by Chen Zhonghe, former head coach of China women's volleyball team, and a table-tennis paddle to a resident of Taipei's Zhongshun neighborhood during a visit on Thursday. Hu Meidong / China Daily

Fujian province wants to learn from Taiwan's experience in building harmonious neighborhoods and creating urban design, a top provincial official said.

During a meeting with residents of Zhongshun neighborhood in Taipei's Wenshan district on Thursday, You Quan, top leader of Fujian province, said more people-to-people exchanges in neighborhood-building between the mainland and Taiwan should be encouraged in the future.

The meeting at a residential complex on Thursday came on the fourth day of You's trip. The first Fujian Party chief to make an official cross-Straits visit, You began his trip to the island on Monday.

The itinerary, which had the theme "Visiting Friends and Relatives and Seeking Mutual Development", covered seven Taiwan cities and counties, including Kaohsiung, Taichung and Nantou.

You met with grassroots representatives of local businesses as well as members of the public during his previous stops.

At the sixth Straits Forum in mid-July in Xiamen, Fujian, You said a special bond exists between Fujian province and Taiwan due to their proximity. The inseparable historical and cultural ties between the province and Taiwan are a solid base for the two regions to deepen cooperation, he added.

Dai Shugen, a researcher with Xiamen University's Taiwan Research Institute, said such grassroots visits reflect the officials' desire to learn the real thoughts of Taiwan people.

The visit will further ease anxiety in Taiwan over the rapid development of cross-Straits ties after a recent protest against a service trade pact, he said.

The pact, signed in June 2013, would open 80 of the mainland's service sectors to Taiwan and 64 Taiwan sectors to the mainland.