Olympic table tennis champion Ma Long,????? ?????? ??????? ???????? a member of a college student delegation from the Chinese mainland visiting Taiwan, tries his hand at baseball on Sunday at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. LU MEI/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

The visit to the Taiwan region by a college student delegation, with members including Olympic table tennis champion Ma Long, has facilitated cross-Strait sports and cultural exchanges, igniting a wave of positivity and goodwill amid strained cross-Strait relations.

The delegation, comprising 40 mainland students and teachers, was invited by the Taiwan-based Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation to visit the island. It departed on Thursday after concluding a nine-day trip.

The group visited universities on the island for exchanges with their peers, and also traveled to historical and cultural sites including the Taipei Confucius Temple, where they learned about Confucian rituals and ceremonial instruments.

Ma, a six-time Olympic table tennis champion, was warmly welcomed by fans who asked him to sign autographs on table tennis paddles and pose for photos. Cheers erupted as Ma made his appearance, with the crowd chanting, "Captain Long, welcome to Taiwan!"

Ma, who has been the captain of the Chinese men's table tennis team since 2014, is also a postgraduate student at Beijing Sport University.

On Friday, he played in an exhibition table tennis match with Ma Ying-jeou, former leader of Taiwan and former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang, at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei.

On Sunday, the delegation experienced baseball, one of the most popular sports in Taiwan, at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. They learned to swing bats to hit the ball under the instruction of Taiwan players. After two failed attempts, Ma Long succeeded on his third try, and jokingly said, "The first two were just bad examples!" Laughter filled the air among the surrounding students.

Song Siyao, a member of the delegation and a student at Fudan University, congratulated the baseball team from Taiwan on its victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's Premier12 tournament. "Compatriots from both sides can work together to improve our country's performance in the field of baseball," she said.

Hsiao Hsu-tsen, executive director of the Ma Ying-jeou Culture and Education Foundation, said, "We should play ping-pong, not war."

Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share similarities as well as differences in perspectives, Hsiao said, adding that it's precisely because of this that communication is necessary — to understand each other's differences, reduce misunderstandings and minimize conflicts.

The visit by the mainland student group to Taiwan holds special significance at this moment of strained cross-Strait relations, and the foundation will continue such activities, he said.

Qiu Yong, secretary of the Communist Party of China Tsinghua University Committee, who led the group, said that he expected more opportunities for young people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to meet, understand each other and build friendships.

He emphasized that the connection between the two sides of the Strait will never be severed and the bonds of affection will never be obstructed.

Olympic shooting gold medalist Yang Qian from Tsinghua University was also a member of the delegation, which also included students from other mainland universities, including Peking University and Sun Yat-sen University.

It was the second such visit organized by the foundation. Last year, faculty members and students from five mainland universities were warmly received across Taiwan. In 2023 and 2024, Ma Ying-jeou also led youth groups from Taiwan on visits to the mainland.

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