Chinese Mark 4th Anniversary of Jiang's Eight-point Proposition on Taiwan ����People across China held forums on January 28 to mark the 4th anniversary of President Jiang Zemin's eight-point proposition on Taiwan and the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Massage to Compatriots in Taiwan by the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee. ����Lu Xianchi, vice-president of the Beijing's Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, said at today's forum that since China began its reform and opening-up drive in 1978, an increasing number of Taiwan compatriots have made contributions to the mainland's economic development and reunification of the motherland. ����Statistics show that since President Jiang Zemin made his important speech, more than 1 million Taiwan compatriots have visited Beijing, and the number of exchange projects between the Chinese capital and Taiwan has now reached 525. ����Feng Guoqin, deputy mayor of Shanghai, pledged on January 28 that the municipality will strictly carry out the investment law for Taiwan compatriots, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Taiwan compatriots. ����By the end of 1998, Shanghai had approved more than 3,300 Taiwan-funded enterprises, with contractual investment surpassing US$3.6 billion. ����In south China's Guangdong Province, Huang Liman, deputy secretary of the provincial Party committee, said that Guangdong will make greater efforts to promote direct postal, commercial and transport links across the Taiwan Straits in the near future. ����As one of the provinces closely linked with Taiwan, Guangdong has hosted more than 7.6 million Taiwan tourists since 1978, and over 19,000 residents of the province have visited Taiwan on private trips. ����To date, Guangdong boasts more than 10,000 Taiwan-funded enterprises, with a total contractual investment of US$15 billion and actual utilization of investment reaching US$7 billion. ����In east China's Zhejiang Province, Liu Xirong, deputy secretary of the provincial Party committee, said that reunification of the motherland is an irresistible historical trend. ����He said that Zhejiang also has close ties with Taiwan, and over the past 10 years more than 2.1 million Taiwan compatriots have visited the province, and 2,684 Taiwan-funded enterprises have been approved in Zhejiang with total investments of US$5.8 billion. ����Some 20 well-known Chinese artists drew a picture of 10,000 flowers January 28 to express their feelings toward the Taiwanese and their desire for the reunification of China. HomeNews 1999-01-29 Page4 Full Story in Chinese