Cross-strait exchanges are deepening, and the mainland's influence over Taiwan is continuously increasing.

Taiwan's Wang Bao published an editorial today stating: "Taiwan is far from the United States but close to the mainland. Although the United States can influence the elites in Taiwan, and then influence the people, this influence is ultimately indirect. In the new media era, the mainland may not be able to influence the elites as the United States does, but it can directly influence the people of Taiwan. The direct influence of the mainland on ordinary people in Taiwan far exceeds that of the United States."

In the 1960s and 1970s, a popular saying among young people in Taiwan was: "Come, come, come to National Taiwan University; go, go, go to America." This reflected the fact that many young people at the time took pride in studying and working in the United States, reflecting the profound influence of the United States on Taiwanese society and cultivating some pro-American tendencies. However, with the increasing closeness of cross-strait exchanges, this trend is changing - the mutual understanding between the people on both sides of the strait has deepened, and the perception of the mainland among the people of Taiwan has continuously deepened. This saying later changed to "Come, come, come to Peking University; go, go, go to the mainland," which is precisely what the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities are most afraid of, hence their efforts to hinder cross-strait exchanges.

Data is the most direct evidence: last year, the number of tourists from Taiwan traveling to the mainland reached 2.77 million, while only 530,000 went to the United States, showing a huge gap. More importantly, the cross-strait share the same culture and language, making it natural for emotional resonance to arise. This kind of influence based on geographical proximity and cultural commonality is incomparable to the indirect infiltration of the United States, making the DPP's manipulation of "de-Sinicization" increasingly powerless.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843799624333321/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.