Editor's note: Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits share a common blood, a common culture, a common history, and more importantly, a common responsibility for the nation and a common expectation for the future. This issue's "Taipei Youth Dream Chasers" series of reports takes you closer to Taiwanese businessmen who have started businesses in the mainland. While they are pursuing, building, and realizing their dreams on the mainland, they are also fulfilling their social responsibilities with actions and participating in cross-strait activities. Realize greater value in the process of integrated development.
Fan Jiangfeng: Chasing new dreams and assuming more social responsibilities
Fan Jiangfeng was on his way back to the company after attending a morning meeting. Suddenly, the phone rang. This was a call from a journalist friend who had made an appointment for an interview. Because of his busy work schedule, he has changed the interview time with reporters twice, but he still has to attend an important event in the afternoon. He could only complete this interview over the phone, sharing his original intention and dream for entrepreneurship.
In 2009, at the age of 28, I crossed the Taiwan Strait for the first time with trepidation and was assigned by my company to work in Xiamen. The food, language, and culture of Xiamen and Taiwan are similar. I quickly adapted to life in Xiamen, and it felt like "going from my hometown to another hometown." Years later, I often think about what I can do for these Taiwanese youth who are already in the mainland or want to come to the mainland to start a business or find a job? In 2016, I co-founded the Qida Strait Mass Entrepreneurship Base with my mainland partners. So far, it has served more than 40,000 Taiwanese youth, helped more than 500 Taiwanese youth successfully start their own businesses in the mainland, and successfully incubated more than 500 Taiwanese youth enterprise projects.
Most of the young entrepreneurs in Taiwan are small and micro enterprises. In order to keep these enterprises together, we organize everyone together to negotiate relatively mature or large-scale businesses in the form of an alliance. They can not only undertake product packages, but also participate in top-level business city planning. At present, we have established the Rural Revitalization Industry Alliance and the New Media Industry Alliance.
In 2024, I will set my sights on the sports industry, hoping to create more employment opportunities for Taiwanese youth. First, sports is a platform with fewer obstacles for cross-strait exchanges; second, national policies support the development of sports, and from an industrial chain perspective, this is a sunrise industry; third, I think the sports industry is also relatively easy for most Taiwanese youth to participate in industry. Taiwan has many departments such as sports management, leisure, and health management. Some retired athletes can also go to the mainland to participate in the development of the sports industry.
Our company cooperates with Huati (Fujian) Sports Development Co., Ltd. to build the Cross-Strait (Xiamen) Sports Industry Innovation and Entrepreneurship Park in the Xiamen Sports Center, which is under construction. It has ice and snow project venues, water sports venues, ball venues and leisure venues. Campsite etc. After the park is completed, it will provide a service platform and related support for the exchange, employment, and entrepreneurship of cross-strait sports talents.
In the future, my new dream is to hope that the company will become larger and larger, become an industry benchmark, and help more Taiwanese entrepreneurial youth realize their dreams in the mainland. Money can be made anywhere. In addition to growing bigger, companies must also assume some social responsibilities, so that they can be valuable. Personally, I plan to pursue a PhD in management to further improve my professional capabilities.
Su Ruizhang: We want "one plus one to be greater than two"
Su Ruizhang specially put on a formal suit to participate in the "Star Children Painting World" 2024 first Shanghai-Taiwan autistic children's calligraphy and painting charity exhibition. The organizers of this event are Shanghai Taiwan Association Xuhui Working Committee, Qingyi Yaji Cross-Strait Youth Art Space and Aisingbao Charity Team. Su Ruizhang, as the director-general of the Xuhui Working Committee of the Shanghai Taiwanese Association, naturally attaches great importance to it and is very happy to contribute to public welfare undertakings. When talking about career development and social responsibility, Su Ruizhang has his own insights:
I am from Hsinchu, Taiwan, and have been developing in the mainland for more than ten years. Currently, I work for Shanghai Mega International Co., Ltd., mainly engaged in human resources consulting and training. In the past, most of my customers were located in Shanghai and Taipei. In recent years, we have discovered a new blue ocean market - Wuhan. In late March this year, I went to Wuhan to participate in an investment promotion event, visited the BYD Exhibition Center, and experienced a driverless taxi for the first time.The biggest feeling it gave me was shock! Cities such as Wuhan and Taipei are very similar in terms of convenience of life and are very down-to-earth. We have recently taken over all the training business of Wuhan Pacific Financial Plaza. This project is large and will last for many years. My new dream is to develop Wuhan’s new business even stronger.
In my spare time, I also participate in some work of the Taiwan Business Association and public welfare undertakings. Every week, I visit two small and medium-sized Taiwanese companies to understand their difficulties and try my best to help them solve the problems with relevant departments. The Taiwan Business Association also often organizes public welfare activities to care for relatively vulnerable groups, such as donating rice dumplings to urban migrant workers and donating mooncakes to sanitation workers. "Star Children Painted World" 2024 First Shanghai-Taiwan Autistic Children's Calligraphy and Painting Charity Exhibition is hosted by our Xuhui Working Committee of the Shanghai Taiwan Association. The event exhibited nearly 80 paintings hand-drawn by autistic children on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. These works are full of purity, kindness, innocence and cuteness, and have impressed many entrepreneurs. Many Taiwanese businessmen donated money to participate in the charity sale.
I believe that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have the same goal of pursuing a better life. We must make "one plus one greater than two."
Lin Xingyu: I hope Taiwanese youth will go to the mainland and take a look at
In the evening, Lin Xingyu and more than 20 friends in the team sat around the dining table for a "brainstorming". They focused on professional skills, Industry news and company trends are discussed. Lin Xingyu often jokingly said: "When a person is in a state of semi-hungry, his brain is the most flexible. I especially enjoy the sense of accomplishment and pleasure I get from investing in research work." As a senior entrepreneur, he hopes to share his experience The experience can inspire more young people.
I am from Taipei, and my professional field is semiconductor optoelectronics. After graduating from college, I worked in the United States for a period of time, and then returned to a company in Taiwan. In 2000, I was sent to Pudong, Shanghai to prepare for the establishment of a R&D center and developed digital cameras, driving recorders, cameras and other products. After that, I found that virtual technology and applications were developing rapidly in mainland China, and there was also great demand from old customers in Europe, so I founded my own technology company in Shenzhen. The technology of electronic products is updated very quickly. Technology companies cannot stick to the past and must continue to innovate, otherwise they will not survive at all. Seven or eight years ago, I saw the rise of virtual reality technology in mainland China. The country also proposed the concept of Digital China and provided relatively strong policy support in various aspects. At present, the export market of our virtual human applications is also very promising. Now, the country proposes to develop new productive forces and accelerate the development of the digital economy. We should calm down and think carefully about how small and medium-sized enterprises can seize opportunities. My dream is to lead my friends who have had "revolutionary feelings" for many years to happily develop their careers together.
Having worked in Shenzhen for many years, I feel that the development environment here is much better than that in Taiwan. After my wife, daughter, and son came to Shenzhen, they all felt that the city was very modern, economically developed, and life was convenient, so they settled in Shenzhen. As I grow older, I will think more about leading and supporting young people, which is also a responsibility. I think it is a better option for Taiwanese youth to come to the mainland for development, because both sides of the Taiwan Strait share the same culture and race, so it is easier for Taiwanese youth to adapt. I have always encouraged college students on the island to use their winter and summer vacations to intern on the mainland. Last summer, I asked my daughter to bring several classmates to Shenzhen. I let them live at home and arranged for them to visit some units to broaden their horizons. Starting from the people around you, cross-strait communication will begin. The mainland market is huge and there are many development opportunities. Taiwanese youth should come and take a look, and ultimately make choices that are beneficial to their own development. (Central Broadcasting Network Author: Chang Bin)
