A true volunteering spirit

Despite the dry climate in northern China, Chen soon got used to life in Beijing. As well as his studies, he volunteered to arrange exchange events for students across the Straits.

That volunteer work continued as he studied for his doctoral degree and his role has gradually evolved from staff member to chief organizer.

In 2015, Chen went back to Taiwan to do his military service after the first year of his doctoral study and returned a year later. During his service his main work was to help organize sports competitions for students in Taiwan.

In March 2019, Chen founded Wanwan Family, an organization for young people from Taiwan in the Haidian district of Beijing, aiming to build a cross-Straits exchange platform. He also founded a similar organization in Taiwan, to help invite the local students to attend the exchange programs on the Chinese mainland.

In-person field trips

For those Taiwan students who have never been to the Chinese mainland, Chen often invites them to come to visit major cities and communicate in person with local students.

In Beijing, there are more than 2,000 students from Taiwan, according to Chen. He regularly organizes in-depth tours to other cities so they can get a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the Chinese mainland.

"I take them to visit some local companies so that they can learn what kind of job to expect if they want to stay on the mainland after graduation," Chen says.

In 2018, he organized a visit to Tencent's Beijing office and his team is currently planning to organize an online job fair for Taiwan graduates studying on the Chinese mainland. Last year, he organized a visit to the Beijing Business Incubation Park for University Students.

Chen Jui-chin, 24, a master's student at the department of sociology, Peking University, is a colleague of his at Wanwan Family. Having known him for five years, she was impressed by his willingness to help people.

"When we host an event, from the discussion and the design of each step before it, to the execution, he participates in the whole process to make sure the activity goes smoothly," Chen Jui-chin says.

"He is so dedicated to helping the many students here from Taiwan," she says. "He also regularly lists all the problems or difficulties that the students have encountered or experienced while studying or living on the mainland and submits them to the authorities."

In his mind, sports events are always an easy bridge for young people to engage in and break the ice to get familiar with each other. From 2017 to 2019, Chen Wencheng organized curling matches, inviting high schoolers and college students from Taiwan to play and compete with their counterparts in Beijing.

Chen Wen-cheng hopes to organize more sports competitions between participants from both sides of the Straits.

Watching the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on TV, he never thought that one day he would be part of an Olympics. On Dec 5, when volunteer applications opened for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, he applied and was successful.

"I want to encourage more young people in Taiwan to apply as a volunteer for the 2022 Winter Olympics," he says.

"Also as a volunteer, I hope to get a better understanding of how the Olympic Games is run and offer my help based on my previous experience."