As the closest mainland Chinese province to Taiwan, Fujian is a key site for Beijing’s messaging towards the island. In the second of a two-part series, Xinlu Liang looks at how the ancestral home village of William Lai Ching-te has become a focus for efforts to promote closer ties based on kinship and religion.
The village of Xintian in Fujian province is usually a quiet rural backwater but that changed in November when popular Taiwanese YouTuber and bodybuilder Holger Chen Chih-han descended on the community.
Chen, better known as “Gym Boss”, was on a tour of the mainland and live-streamed his visit to the village to his 1.3 million followers, including his stop at the Lai Clan Ancestral Hall.
The hall is the repository of centuries of clan history and, in an interview with Chen, clan association secretary Lai Hanzhong had some words for its most famous son, Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te.
“All of us hope he will repent and learn from his mistakes, and do more good for the cause of national reunification,” he said.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force to reunite it with the mainland. It also sees William Lai as an “obstinate separatist”.
Since Gym Boss’ live stream, visitor numbers have spiked and the local government has urged the clan association to turn the village into a centre for cross-strait cultural exchange, according to a clan member. A new display hall for this purpose is under construction and is set to be completed by the end of the year.
