MKsports 2024. Photo: Xinhua" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-11-27/42b9a47d-2ab1-4fd9-9e3f-f38a1e1c9321.jpeg" />

Taiwan students welcome the mainland delegation at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport on November 27, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

An invited mainland delegation arrived on the island of Taiwan on Wednesday, where they were heartily welcomed by people from all walks of life. The delegation will kick off their nine-day journey with a wide range of exchange activities. Among the most popular members of the delegation are six-time Olympic table tennis gold medalist Ma Long and Tokyo Olympic shooting champion Yang Qian.

At the invitation of the Taiwan-based Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation, a delegation of 40 faculty and students from seven universities in the mainland, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University, arrived at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport on Wednesday for a trip set to last nine days, according to the China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday that it's hoped the invited delegation will enjoy a pleasant visit in Taiwan island, and that youths from both sides of the Taiwan Straits will take this opportunity to strengthen exchanges and interactions, enhance mutual understanding, and deepen mutual friendship.  

Youths on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are the most active and positive force in fostering cross-Straits relations and should be supported by all sectors, Chen said, adding that continued efforts will be made to promote interactions and provide opportunities for young people to connect, learn, and share ideas, helping them grow closer and build deeper ties.

The mainland students and teachers will visit six universities in Taiwan - Taiwan University, Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Chengchi University, Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, and Chang Gung University - as well as the Taipei Municipal Zhongshan Girls High School, according to the Xinhua News Agency, citing Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the foundation.

Additionally, the foundation will arrange baseball experience activities, allowing mainland students to engage firsthand with Taiwan's popular baseball culture, according to Xinhua.

"Seeing Ma Long and Yang Qian is not only a dream come true for my best friend who has supported Ma for eight years, it is also the happiest and most memorable day of my life," a Taiwan student named Hsieh Yu Chieh told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

Hsieh, a student from Chang Gung University, said she has prepared local snacks for the two atheletes, noting that they will contribute to boosting the sports culture in Taiwan island, and she also hopes to get chances to visit universities in the mainland to enjoy the different academic atmosphere.

This is the second such visit planned by the foundation. In 2023, faculty members and students from five mainland universities were warmly received across Taiwan, positively impacting cross-Straits relations, Xinhua said. 

Sports should be the topic with the least barriers for exchanges between youths from both sides of the Taiwan Straits, and it is also a topic where common ground can be easily found, Sheng Jiuyuan, director of the Center for Taiwan Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that the involvement of athletes will inject fresh energy into the exchanges and foster more shared interests, thereby expanding the range of topics for youth exchanges across the Taiwan Straits.

Sheng said this kind of exchange shows to the people of Taiwan that there is no sensitive content hidden in youth exchanges as they all communicate about the topics they are interested in. He added that youth exchanges contribute to mutual understanding and recognition, which in turn facilitate mutual learning, and that there's no reason to refuse such events.

Sheng expressed his hope that the visits will serve as opportunities to bring cross-Straits exchanges back to normal. "I would also like to see cross-Straits youth exchanges not just be limited here, but to feature more levels, forms and content. Expanding the field and scope would be most significant," Sheng added.