Pingtan Island in the east of Fujian Province is the closest area from mainland China to Taiwan Island, geographically only 68 nautical miles away from Hsinchu City. Locals often joke that "you can even swim around" when the tide is low. It is precisely because of this that Pingtan has become the first foothold for many Taiwanese to start businesses and work in the mainland. From the 4th to the 7th of this month, a reporter from the "Global Times" came to Fujian with the "Central Media-On-Site Interview in the Pilot Free Trade Zone", and felt a strong "cross-strait family" atmosphere in Pingtan. Here, people from both sides of the strait, regardless of each other, jointly contribute to the development of the National Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Overcome the difference in language between the two sides
"It is more convenient for Taiwan Youth to serve Taiwan compatriots." On the 7th, the interview team went to the Taiwan Compatriots Professional Qualification Integrated Service Center in Pingtan. In order to solve the problem that Taiwan’s occupational certificates cannot be effectively used in the mainland, the Pingtan Free Trade Zone explored the comparison and adoption of Taiwan’s professional qualification standards, which was replicated and promoted nationwide by the State Council. The staff told the interview group that the service center specially changed the signs and other information into traditional Chinese characters, and many of the front desk staff were from Taiwan.
On the large screen on the first floor of the lobby, there is a "List of Taiwan Vocational Certificate Standard Comparison and Acceptance Situation". The "Global Times" reporter observed that there are hundreds of Taiwan license names and their corresponding mainland qualifications listed on the form, some are still "in the process of comparison", and some are "adopted". For example, Taiwan's "Indoor Wiring Technician Certificate" and "Distribution Line Decoration Technician Certificate" and other license names correspond to the mainland qualifications as "electrician"; "horticultural technician certificate" corresponds to "crop plant protection worker"; Taiwan's "Employment Service Technician Certificate" corresponds to the mainland's "Enterprise Human Resource Manager". The workload of converting related names is quite large, and most of the Taiwan certificates have not yet been compared with the corresponding mainland qualification certificates.
Because there are some differences in terms of industry and daily life between the two sides of the strait, it is particularly important for the service center to promote "Taiwan Youth Serving Taiwan Compatriots". A staff member from Taiwan said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times that he went to work in Pingtan with his husband from the mainland. She said that serving Taiwanese compatriots as a Taiwanese youth can avoid some communication barriers caused by different language. Although most of the Taiwanese staff in the service center are married across the Taiwan Strait or have worked in the mainland before, they said that more and more fresh graduates from Taiwan universities are willing to go directly to the mainland to start a business and live after graduation. Interestingly, although the interviewed staff member could understand Hokkien, he could not speak it himself and could only respond in Mandarin. "Like everywhere in the mainland, many young people in Taiwan can't speak dialects anymore."