China wants to boost the “loyalty” of younger Taiwanese, Hong Konger and Macanese by organizing “study trips” and exchanges for them to visit China, a top Chinese official said on Friday.
Young activists in Taiwan and Hong Kong have irked Beijing in recent years by pushing for greater autonomy or independence, and by organizing protests against China’s influence.
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Chairman Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲) announced the plan at the opening meeting of the fifth session of the 12th CPPCC National Committee in Beijing.
He said the Chinese government would this year organize trips for young people “to visit China on study trips and experience it for themselves,” adding the trips would “strengthen the love of both region and country among the people of Hong Kong and Macau.”
The Chinese government would also increase exchanges with young Taiwanese to “build up public support for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations,” he said.
Yu did not say how many people would be brought to China or give any other details about the plan, or how it might differ from existing schemes.
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