Did Chinese President Xi Jinping's experience in Fujian help him make cross-strait history?
President's experience as official in southern province helped him gain insight into Taiwan
Both President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan have deep links with Taiwan.
After all, Xi spent 17 years in Fujian province , the beachhead of the mainland's contact with what it regards as a "renegade" province, rising from a deputy mayor to governor.
Xi visited a pilot free-trade area to boost trade with Taiwan in the Fujian island of Pingtan numerous times during his tenure there, showing his strong interest in finding a way to build bridges with Taiwan, according to mainland media. He also led neighbouring Zhejiang for five years, the favoured province where many Taiwanese have set up businesses.
"Among the leaders of the five generations, Xi is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable about Taiwan," wrote Agnes Andresy in .
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Xi's wife was also believed to have relatives in Taiwan, ties that reportedly led to her parents' persecution during the Cultural Revolution. Peng had an uncle in the Taiwanese city of Chiayi. The uncle, a Kuomintang veteran, fled to Taiwan after 1949 and Taiwanese authorities have stopped media from disturbing the man, mainland and Taiwanese media reported earlier.
