"I was raised by my grandmother. When my sister and I were little, my parents were very busy with work. From 1996 to 2002, my grandma would fly to Taiwan twice a year––according to the two school terms—to look after us," Peng Tzu Huan told Beijing Review. But back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were no direct cross-Straits flights, so his grandmother Li Jinyuan, a retired staff member of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, had to fly in via Hong Kong. It would take her a whole day to get to Taiwan from Beijing—an exhausting journey.

Peng's mother Li Tianyi is a Beijinger and his father hails from Hsinchu, Taiwan. They met while studying in Japan in the early 1990s and tied the knot soon after. After graduation, they settled down in Taiwan and both started teaching at the university.

In retirement, many Chinese seniors continue to devote themselves to the family by taking care of their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

In December 2008, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan started direct air, shipping and postal services after years of negotiation and preparation. "Direct flights make it more convenient for our family to come together," Peng said.

"The realization of 'three direct links' in mail, business and transport is a result of upholding the 1992 Consensus, the political foundation for exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan," Jie Dalei, an associate professor at Peking University's School of International Studies, told Beijing Review.

As a result of China's civil war in the late 1940s and the interference of external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have fallen into a state of protracted political confrontation, according to a white paper entitled The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era released by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the State Council Information Office in August.

Cross-Straits relations began to thaw in the late 1980s. In November 1992, the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Straits Exchange Foundation based in Taiwan, nongovernmental organizations authorized by the mainland and Taiwan to engage in talks regarding cross-Straits exchanges, reached the consensus that "both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China and will work together toward national reunification." This agreement is commonly referred to as the 1992 Consensus.

Exchanges in trade, economy and other fields between both sides have continuously increased over the past few decades, with all achievements being credited to an adherence to the 1992 Consensus.

Today, Peng lives in the mainland metropolis of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, together with 81-year-old Li Jinyuan. "After settling down here, I couldn't bear the thought of my grandma living in Beijing all by herself, so I went to get her to come live with me; I figured we could take care of each other," he said.

For Peng, the traditional Chinese concept of xiao, or filial piety, tops all other moral values. It entails a deep-seated respect for one's parents, grandparents and ancestors. The Chinese notion of "family" also closely ties in with the people's idea of a nation, which is called guojia in standard Chinese—literally translated as "state family." These are still common values shared by both sides of the Straits and are the historical bonds connecting them.

Mainland life

Peng was born in Japan in 1992. In December of that year, Li Tianyi and her husband took 9-month-old Peng back to Taiwan with them.

"I suppose my first time traveling to the mainland was in 1995," Peng said.

Over the following years, the many summer vacations spent with his relatives on the mainland and a one-semester exchange experience at Peking University in 2013 created a deep connection. After graduating from Taiwan University in Taipei in 2014, Peng chose to continue his postgraduate studies at Tsinghua University's Law School in Beijing.

According to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, more than 12,000 students from Taiwan were studying in higher learning institutions on the Chinese mainland as of late 2019. Moreover, their number in 2018 was already five times that of 2017, signaling a greater interest among Taiwan's youth to pursue further studies on the mainland.

One underlying reason here is since 2010, students from Taiwan have been allowed to use the scores they'd obtained in the island's college entrance examination to apply to mainland universities. In 2017, the mainland started granting scholarships to bachelor, master and Ph.D students from the island studying at its universities and research institutes.

Like his grandfather Li Xiandeng, a famous historian, Peng loves history. The Rise of the Great Powers, a program produced by the mainland's China Central Television that discusses the development experiences of several developed countries, is one of his favorite documentaries of all time.

"I think the mainland does learn from these experiences," Peng said. "A few decades ago, many people thought the mainland would never be able to achieve what it has today. And looking back today, I think the mainland is strategically clear and has achieved its own goals, one step at a time."

After getting his master's degree in 2017, Peng chose to continue his career development on the mainland and landed a job in Shenzhen. He has recently taken an interest in the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In his eyes, the CPC has transformed a weak country into what it is today—a remarkable feat.

"People in Taiwan often misunderstand the mainland due to a lack of connection, conversation or interaction," Peng said. "But many of them are interested in the mainland; they just need the courage to take that first step: coming here."

"We should provide our fellow residents in Taiwan with more opportunities and more convenient methods to integrate their own growth with that of the mainland," Jie said. Using their own experiences, they could bridge the gap in communication between both sides, he added.

Guided by the conviction that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are of the same family, the CPC and the Chinese Government have promoted peaceful progress of cross-Straits relations and integrated development of the two sides for the benefit of both the mainland and Taiwan, this August's white paper read.

National reunification

In October 1971, the 26th UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which undertook "to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations." The resolution is a political document encapsulating the one-China principle.

"So long as both sides acknowledge the one-China principle, other issues can be left open to discussion," Jie said, adding "amid differences, it's always politically wise to seek common ground."

However, since coming to power in 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, the regional leader of Taiwan, and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus and even tried to distort and deny it, resulting in a tense cross-Straits situation. Despite its commitment to the one-China principle, the U.S., too, hasn't helped matters, with its House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's provocative visit to Taiwan in August raising tensions.

"These are the short-term challenges we must meet today," Jie said. "However, these would not stop China's step toward national reunification; reunification is a part of China's journey toward national rejuvenation."

"We have issued various policies benefiting our fellow residents in Taiwan and, at the same time, we have taken measures to defeat the 'Taiwan independence' secessionist forces and external interference. This is an all-inclusive undertaking," the professor added.

Taiwan held local elections on November 26. Among the elected 21 county and city chief posts, the Kuomintang won 13 seats, the DPP landed five, the Taiwan People's Party landed one and the rest two went to independent candidates, according to the island's electoral affairs authority.

This result reflects the mainstream public opinion of seeking peace and stability in Taiwan, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on November 26.

"All in all, the development of the mainland itself and the enhancement of China's comprehensive national strength and international status make up the core that will determine the ultimate future of cross-Straits relations," Jie said.

"I agree with the concept of One Country, Two Systems," Peng said, referring to an important institutional instrument created by the CPC and the Chinese Government to enable peaceful reunification. In the early 1980s, Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping put forward the concept known as One Country, Two Systems. According to Deng, One Country, Two Systems means there is only but one China and under this premise, the mainland adheres to the socialist system while Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan may retain their capitalist systems for a long time to come.

Chen Yunying, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) from Taiwan, told the media during the NPC's annual full session in March that "in Taiwan, many voices supporting national reunification cannot be heard due to Tsai and her DPP's suppression."

Chen's husband Justin Yifu Lin, who served as chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank from 2008 to 2012, left Taiwan and settled down on the mainland in 1979. Lin then wrote to his cousin in 1980 saying his decision was both "a historical inevitability" and "the optimal choice." Aged 70 today, he restated his belief this year in an article published on Peking University's social media account on September 23.

Different from the U.S. and several other Western countries, who view the Taiwan question from a geopolitical perspective, "the Chinese people on both sides across the Straits value their common history and their family bond," Jie concluded.

(Print Edition Title: A Family Affair)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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