Couples tie knot across Straits

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Hong Shuangfei, with her son and father, walks on the beach at her hometown in Weitou, Fujian province. She travels from Kinmen regularly to visit her parents. Provided to China Daily

Love finds ways to cross differences, report Sun Li and Hu Meidong in Jinjiang, Fujian.

Hong Shuangfei is often reluctant to discuss her marriage, even though it's more than two decades since she tied the knot. The 39-year-old's reluctance stems from the fact that recalling the circumstances of the wedding can still prompt self-conscious giggles.

"My parents initially opposed the marriage, and it was as though I'd won a game when they finally agreed," she said, laughing.

The native of Weitou village in Fujian province first met Chen Ying-chao, who hails from Kinmen county in Taiwan, in 1992. Later that year, they took the plunge and Hong became the first woman from her village to marry a man from Taiwan.

The proximity of Weitou and Kinmen, and the shared fishing grounds, inevitably result in friendships springing up, and people from Taiwan regularly drop by to visit the mainland village.

"My husband was a regular guest of my father, and that was how we knew each other," Hong said.

Although her father, Hong Jiancai, deemed Chen, who sold fishery products, to be a "good and able lad", he had grave reservations about the proposed marriage.

His concerns stemmed from the fact that for many decades, Weitou was regarded as a fortress against Taiwan.

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