China News Network Suzhou, December 27 Title: Chen Youjie, President of Kunshan Youth Association: My youth is in the mainland
Zhong Sheng, reporter of China News Network
At the end of the year, Chen Youjie, president of the Youth Association of the Association of Taiwan Compatriots Investment Enterprises in Kunshan City, is making plans for the upcoming 2024: to help the new Taiwan youth integrate into the mainland faster, to solve the problems of Taiwan youth who have taken root in the mainland, and to share the happiness of family relations in the mainland for several generations... For the new year, Chen Youjie is full of expectations.
According to Chen Youjie, his grandfather, whose ancestral home is Hunan, arrived in Taiwan at the age of 18. The old people who miss their hometown have always regarded Taiwan as their temporary residence, hoping to return to their hometown as soon as possible, so they insist on not buying houses on the island. After the resumption of civil exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, my grandfather returned home many times to visit his relatives, never forgetting to bring a lot of household appliances and daily necessities to relatives on the mainland. Influenced by the older generation, Chen Youjie and his family always have special feelings for the mainland.
Chen Youjie's family is mainly engaged in wood related businesses such as veneer in Taiwan. As the mainland economy began to take off, around 1995, Chen Youjie's parents decided to set up a factory in Kunshan. In 2003, all four of Chen Youjie's siblings came to Kunshan to reunite with their parents and began to study and live in the mainland.
After graduating from Shanghai University of Technology, Chen Youjie officially took over the family business in 2017. In addition, under the supervision of the eldest sister who was the first president of the Taiwan Youth Association in Kunshan City, Chen Youjie also joined the Association. Chen Youjie confessed that he was reluctant at first. "At that time, my sister insisted that I go to the activities of the Taiwan Youth Association. I wanted to deal with her and focus on the family business. After joining the Taiwan Youth Association, I found that the people in Taiwan Youth Association were very good and enthusiastic, which made me feel good about this organization, and I also wanted them to do their part for Taiwan Youth in Kunshan."
In 2021, Chen Youjie was elected the third president of the Kunshan Youth Association. In retrospect, Chen Youjie will still feel a little uneasy. He said: "My personality does not like socializing, and I do not like being the leader of the organization. Moreover, my former president did a good job. The thought that if I did not do a good job after taking over, the pressure would be very great. But I also know that it is not good for me to do so all the time, and I hope to bring myself a chance to change."
Overcome your stage fright and act as the host of the Taiwan Youth Games; In order to set a good example for Taiwan youth, we should try new measures to benefit Taiwan compatriots first; During the COVID-19 epidemic, we organized Taiwanese youth as volunteers to support the local fight against the epidemic in Kunshan... For Chen Youjie now, helping Taiwanese youth and connecting with compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits made him feel gratified and satisfied. "I now spend about 80% of my time dealing with the affairs of the Taiwan Youth Association. I sometimes think that if I didn't serve as the president, I might make the company better, but I still don't regret it. I think it is more meaningful to help more people."
In recent years, the mainland has introduced a series of measures to benefit Taiwan compatriots, which has given Chen Youjie more confidence. Now, Chen Youjie and his family have applied for residence permits for Taiwan residents. They are enjoying more and more equal treatment when buying houses and participating in medical insurance in Kunshan. In 2022, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Commerce and other departments jointly announced the implementation of the new policy for Taiwan residents to apply for self-employed businesses in the mainland. Chen Youjie successfully obtained the first self-employed business license for Taiwan residents issued by Jiangsu Province after the new policy was introduced.
Since childhood, Chen has lived and studied in the mainland. He also has many mainland friends. In his spare time, he would organize young people on both sides of the strait to play Frisbee, ride and climb mountains together; They will also take Suzhou Rail Transit Line 11, which connects Kunshan and Shanghai, to visit their twin brothers working in Shanghai, and make an appointment with mainland students in college to have dinner and watch movies. Chen Youjie said that in the new year, he will continue to provide good services for Taiwan youth to take root in Kunshan, and at the same time promote the exchange and integration of youth across the Taiwan Straits, so that compatriots across the Taiwan Straits can move forward hand in hand.
