Four Taiwanese have stood out in a recent writing contest about Taiwanese in Shanghai with their personal experiences of living and working in this eastern municipality.
In his prize-winning essay titled Shanghai, My Second Hometown, Taiwan-born Huang Yanxun wrote about his four-year study at the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and subsequent life and career in Shanghai, saying he had "developed a strong love for this beautiful city".
Chen Kangxu, another Taiwanese laureate, told the love story of himself and his wife, a Shanghai native, in his essay My Family Life.
The Street Outside My School by Taiwanese student Ma Ying was a snapshot of her impressions of the booming city and its rapid infrastructure building over the past two years.
Fu Rujun, another prize-winning author who has settled down in Shanghai, proudly declared himself as a permanent resident of Shanghai in his essay.
Of the 300-odd authors who contributed to the contest, 26 were Taiwanese, said Liu Li, an anchorperson with Voice from Pujiang River, a Shanghai-based radio station that provides broadcasting services exclusively to Taiwan.
The radio station co-sponsored the writing contest with the Shanghai municipal government, and broadcast some well-written essays to the Taiwan audience.
"The broadcast has received a warm welcome in Taiwan," said Liu.
A dozen local Shanghaiese also found their names in the winners' list, which was announced Tuesday in Shanghai. They wrote about Taiwan compatriots in Shanghai that they knew of, particularly those warm-hearted Taiwanese who had been deeply involved in public welfare activities.
Gu Ming, an official in charge of Taiwan affairs with the Shanghai government, said enhanced economic, trade and cultural exchanges with the island province had drawn many Taiwan compatriots to this commercial hub.
By the end of January, Taiwanese-funded enterprises had invested in 5,100 projects in Shanghai, bringing US$10.2 billion of contractual investment, according to statistics provided by the Shanghai government.
(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2004)