BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) — Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Monday encouraged young people across the Taiwan Strait to jointly strive for the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. He made the remarks in a letter replying to young people from China's Taiwan who were attending the Straits Youth Forum.

"I am pleased to learn that through attending the forum, you have formed closer ties with the mainland where you have found the stage to realize your dreams and witnessed with your own eyes the rapid changes taking place in the motherland. I am also very glad to know that you have felt the deep attachment like family members between compatriots across the Taiwan Strait," Xi wrote in the letter.

Xi stressed that a nation will prosper only when its young people thrive, and a country will be strong only when its young people have strength. The future of the motherland and the nation lies with the youth. We will, as always, create favorable conditions for young people across the Strait to learn from each other and provide more convenience for young people from Taiwan to study, find jobs, start businesses and live in the mainland. I hope you will share your experiences and insights about the mainland with your peers in Taiwan so that Taiwan youth will know more about the mainland, and join hands with young people in the mainland to strive with tenacity and make their life blossom in the great process of realizing the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, Xi said.

The Straits Youth Forum, founded in 2003, is jointly run by the All-China Youth Federation, the Chinese Youth International in Taiwan and the department of youth affairs of the Kuomintang. It serves as an important platform for exchanges between young people across the Strait. The 20th Straits Youth Forum was held in Xiamen, Fujian Province, from July 11 to 12. Fifty young people from Taiwan invited to take part in the forum have written a letter to General Secretary Xi recently. In the letter, they talked about their experiences and insights concerning their studies, working and living in the mainland, and expressed their firm determination to contribute to the national rejuvenation and reunification.

(Source: Xinhua)