Visiting former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang party Ma Ying-jeou, along with a delegation of Taiwan students, talks to mainland students at Wuhan University on March 30, 2023. Photo: Wu Wei/GT

Former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party Ma Ying-jeou started his fourth day in the Chinese mainland on Thursday by visiting the Memorial Hall of the Wuchang Uprising in the Revolution of 1911 in Wuhan. The revolution, led by Chinese national hero and KMT founder Sun Yat-sen, ended more than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China.

Ma also paid tribute to medical workers for their sacrifice and dedication while visiting an exhibition on the city's battle against the COVID-19 epidemic at the Wuhan Municipal Archives. He said the city's effective COVID-19 control measures at an early stage had prevented a large-scale spread of the virus, which was a contribution not only to the mainland but also to the whole of humanity.

Ma, along with a delegation of Taiwan students, also talked to mainland students at Wuhan University during his visit, and 28 Taiwan students and 35 mainland students from the university gathered at the Wuhan University History Hall and shared their thoughts for about an hour.

He invited mainland students from Wuhan University to pay a visit to Taiwan this summer vacation, and the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation will arrange for them to live with Taiwan families for a long time, "so that young people from both sides of the Straits can get in touch with each other and understand each other more, so as to increase friendliness and gradually integrate together." 

Huang Chih-hsien, an expert on cross-Straits relations and TV commentator from Taiwan, told the Global Times on Thursday that through Ma's mainland visit, Taiwan people are able to see, hear and feel things that they had not experienced before. 

Ma's remarks touched upon deep-seated memories of Taiwan people's Chinese national identity, said Huang.  

Wang Yu-ching, a Taiwan cross-Straits observer who lives in the Chinese mainland, told the Global Times on Thursday that Ma's mainland tour reflects the mainstream public opinion of peace, exchange and integrated development on the island of Taiwan.

It [Ma's visit] will bring back "homecoming fever," especially when the pandemic is about to finish, and many Taiwan people are looking forward to visiting the mainland, Wang said.

He noted that Ma's delegation is not the only one visiting the mainland currently. Many cross-Straits youth exchange groups have already started their mainland tours. 

"In the second half of this year, there will likely be a surge of cross-Straits people-to-people exchanges, with more new arrivals who have not been to the mainland before.

"I hope Ma can bring Taiwan youth home often, and visit more mainland cities like Beijing, Xi'an and Shenyang, which would be beneficial to more harmonious cross-Straits relations, the common aspiration of both sides' Chinese people," Wang said.