could press harder for the return of the is-
land. Others predict that he will play the
long game. With the help of lawmakers vot-
ing overwhelmingly last month to abolish
presidential term limits, Xi can rule for as
long as he wants, and his government can
try to shift the young Taiwanese genera-
tion’s view of their next-door neighbor.
To that end, Beijing has introduced a
growing number of policies aimed at mak-
ing it easier for Taiwanese to invest, study,
and work on the mainland. It announced
the latest ones – 31 altogether – on Feb. 28.
Wen, who has already qualified for tens of
thousands of dollars in government subsi-
dies, is sure to benefit from some of them.
But whether they’re enough to buy his po-
litical loyalty appears to be a long shot. “I’m
Taiwanese,” Wen says. “I think my identity
is hard to change.”
Mainland appeal
Wen isn’t entirely new to Fuzhou. He
lived here as a child, when his
parents owned a textile factory
in the city. But when he returned
in 2016, after being away 24 years,
he barely recognized it. China’s
economic boom had transformed
Fuzhou into a modern city of more
than 7 million people, complete
with gleaming skyscrapers, a
subway line, and rush-hour traf-
fic jams. “When I was young, the
streets were full of tricycles and
rickshaws,” Wen says. “It now
feels like a different city.”
Wen arrived after graduating
from Tamkang University, one
of Taiwan’s top schools, with a
degree in public administration.
Having grown up in a business
family, he was eager to start his
own e-commerce company, but
not in Taiwan. The island’s econ-
omy was stagnant, and its online
shopping industry far less devel-
oped than China’s. Then there
were the financial incentives on
the mainland: about $1,500 for
business supplies and two years
of free office rent.
It didn’t take long for Wen to
find an office. Over the past three
years, more than 50 start-up bases
have opened across China to serve
Taiwanese entrepreneurs. There
are at least 17 in Fuzhou alone.
The incubators are also open to
mainland companies, but they offer the most
incentives to those from Taiwan. In addition
to free office space, many provide housing
subsidies and tax breaks.
Wen ultimately settled on the Fuzhou Tai-
wan Youth Startup Base. Located in a non-
descript office building in one of Fuzhou’s
many industrial zones, the Startup Base
is home to 83 Taiwanese companies that
sell everything from cosmetics to car parts.
Chen Xiurong, the incubator’s founder, is aTaiwanese native who has lived in Fuzhou
for 25 years. She is a strong advocate for
young people like Wen who move to the
mainland. “Living in Taiwan is waiting for
death,” she says. “Going to the mainland is
looking for a chance to live.”
Ms. Chen’s grim assessment is based on
the fact that China’s economy is growing
more than twice as quickly as Taiwan’s.
Also, starting salaries for graduates in Tai-
wan have remained stagnant since the late
1990s. Rather than waiting for Ms. Tsai to
fulfill her promise of creating more opportu-
nities for young people on the island, many
have chosen to leave. More than 420,
Taiwanese now work on the mainland,
where they can earn much more than they
would in Taiwan.
Many of the 31 new measures revealed
in February by China’s Taiwan Affairs Of-
fice are meant to make it easier for entre-
preneurs by lowering costs and allowing
greater access to the mainland market.
An Fengshan, a spokesman for
the office, told reporters that the
measures would provide “targeted
solutions for the benefit of Taiwan
society.”
Wen says he would have come
to China regardless of the incen-
tives, but he admits that they do
make life easier for him. Not that
he has found it that difficult to
adjust to the mainland. In many
ways, Wen prefers living here.
There are the small things, like
having the ability to pay for al-
most anything with a smartphone
app. Then there are the big things,
like the mainland’s fast-paced
economy.
When Wen’s friends back
home tell him they’re considering
moving to China, he tells them to
come see for themselves before
they decide. One of his closest
friends, Luo Yujie, moved to Fu-
zhou in July after doing exactly
that. “There is more space for de-
velopment on the mainland,” Mr.
Luo says. “There are just more
opportunities here.”Brain drain
While Beijing has long targeted
business interests in Taiwan as a
way to shore up support, it didn’t
appear to give much thought to theFuzhouShanghaiTaipeiHong KongGuangzhouC
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SeaBeijingJACOB TURCOTTE/STAFFTaipeiV NEXT PAGE‘There is more space for
development on the
mainland. There are just
more opportunities here.’
- Luo Yujie, who moved from Taiwan to
Fuzhou, China, last year