Students take photos during a subforum held at Xiamen University. Jiang Kehong / Xinhua

"With China's growing national strength and success in developing economic and trade ties with other countries, it's predicted that exporters in the mainland will enjoy low taxes and convenient customs services, plus more trade agreements with other countries, especially those participating in the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.

Hsu Jung-hsiao, a 76-year-old retiree from Taiwan who attended the forum, said: "I'm not surprised that a growing number of people are willing to live and work in the mainland. For one thing, transportation and public services in major cities are much better than in Taiwan.

"I have lived in Taiwan since my parents took me to the island in 1949, but I have visited my hometown, Yancheng, Jiangsu province, every year for the past decade. The rapid development of airports and highways mean it's now convenient for me to visit my sister in Yancheng every year," he said.

Hsu's sons work in Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, because they believe the economic development of large mainland cities offers great potential.

Visitor numbers rise

Last year, 5.7 million people from Taiwan traveled to the mainland, underscoring the steady growth since the two sides resumed communications 30 years ago.

In Nov 1987, after long-standing restrictions on trade and direct communications were abandoned, the Taiwan authorities allowed residents to visit relatives in the mainland. The move ended 38 years without formal communications between the two sides, even though trade via third countries thrived in the 1970s.

In 2011, in a bid to boost Taiwan's tourism sector, residents of three mainland cities were allowed to visit Taiwan as individuals - before, visitors were only allowed as members of tour groups. The number of eligible cities has been expanded to 47.

Hsu said he has full confidence in cross-Straits businesses and people-to-people exchanges, despite temporary setbacks, because people on both sides share the same roots, traditions, cultural values, culinary habits and language. Moreover, the mainland offers a wider range of employment and business opportunities, and the lifestyle is virtually undistinguishable from that in Taiwan.

That point was echoed by Chow: "I like living in Xiamen. One important factor is that there is no difference when I go to restaurants or supermarkets in the city. I can get everything I want, just like at home."

Despite the political setbacks, Yin Cunyi, a professor at Tsinghua University's Institute of Taiwan Studies, believes the mainland's determination to improve the lives of people on both sides of the Straits remains unchanged. "The political relations between the two sides are virtually 'frozen', but communications between people on both sides of the Straits are really 'hot', because they still need to trade," he said.

The mainland's growing popularity with businesspeople from the island is demonstrated by the number of startups in the Taiwan pavilion in the Xiamen section of the Fujian Free Trade Zone. To date, 81 companies have chosen to base themselves in the pavilion, which opened a year ago.

"It is an irreversible trend; businesses and organizations on both sides will engage in a wider range of exchanges and interactions in the coming years," Yin said.

Contact the writer at zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn