The Central Committee of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League (TDSL) hosted an online event on Feb 8 to celebrate the Spring Festival with Taiwan compatriots who planned to stay put on the Chinese mainland for the upcoming holiday.

Su Hui, vice-chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairwoman of the TDSL Central Committee, delivered a speech at the event.

Su said that the culture of family is deeply rooted in the Chinese identity, making Chinese particularly miss their families when the Spring Festival comes.

Noting that the TDSL is the home in the mainland to all Taiwan compatriots, she said that young people from Taiwan are the best envoys in cross-Straits communication and exchanges. She said she believes that despite the epidemic, nothing can stop compatriots from both sides of the Straits from drawing closer to each other.

Named as “encircling the furnace”, the event pays tribute to a long-standing tradition popular in Taiwan and southern Fujian in which families sit around a round table with a hot pot to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

During the event, guests from Taiwan, including Yok Mu-ming, honorary chairman of the New Party, and Chi Sin, chairwoman of the Alliance for the Reunification of China, also sent their Spring Festival wishes via video link to the Taiwan compatriots who planned to stay on the mainland for the holiday

With a variety of shows and performances put on at the event’s main venue in Beijing, such as writing spring couplets and bamboo clapper performance, the event was full of joy.

The TDSL will also organize a string of activities, including a Spring Festival-themed short video display and interactions on WeChat, to show how Taiwan compatriots on the mainland celebrate the Spring Festival.