What happened when mainland China recruited Taiwanese for governance
The efforts started more than a decade ago to integrate Taiwanese into the mainland’s economy, society, and culture but there were bumps along the way
The song describes a nostalgic longing for “the motherland” and the performance in Xiamen in the eastern mainland province of Fujian was meant to send a message of unity.
Song, then 29 years old and a former product security employee at a manufacturing company, was among 35 Taiwanese appointed that year to jobs on the lower rungs of the mainland government system.
They were taken on as part of a broader effort to integrate Taiwanese into the mainland’s economy, society, and culture.
Their jobs, in the words of a Xiamen official, were “tailored to their expertise” and covered areas ranging from environmental protection to traditional Chinese culture.
The idea was that by bringing Taiwanese into its governance system, Beijing could win hearts and minds, and lay the foundation for a peaceful reunification with the island.
