A former television host from Taiwan, Zhai Xuan, has made a pivotal decision to leave mainstream broadcasting in order to create content that provides a better understanding of the Chinese mainland and cross-strait relations.
Zhai, a seasoned television host with over a decade of experience in Taiwan's media landscape, recently addressed an audience at an event in Beijing, where she revealed her complete transition into independent online media.
In her remarks, she articulated her aspiration to bridge what she perceives as a significant information gap between audiences on both sides of the Strait, highlighting her commitment to fostering a deeper understanding and connection through her new endeavors.
"I was really surprised by all the fake news. There were stories saying people on the mainland can't afford tea eggs or that they live in mud houses and in Taiwan, this was the main information many people received," said Zhai.
Zhai said she initially began producing online videos to challenge such perceptions while continuing her work as a television host.
In April 2025, she travelled to the mainland with her father to fulfill her late grandfather's wish to return to his hometown. The trip, which reunited family members separated since 1949, was recorded in a video series titled "Journey to Find Our Roots", drawing attention from viewers in both Taiwan and the mainland.
"Many people in Taiwan told me that after watching, they wanted to apply for a mainland travel permit immediately and go looking for their relatives. Some had long forgotten these things, but after seeing my story, they began thinking about their hometowns and family members they had never met and decided to search for their roots," Zhai shared her story at the event.
By mid-2025, Zhai said she began to feel increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and a tightening atmosphere around cross-Strait exchanges in Taiwan.
After more than 12 years in the industry, Zhai resigned from her position, believing it was the right thing to do.
"At that moment, I felt this was a major issue，not just for me, but for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait. If I backed down then, I wouldn’t be standing on the right side," said Zhai.
Since leaving television, Zhai has broadened her online programming to encompass a range of daily-life topics, including practical guidance on applying for a mainland travel permit and using commonly employed mobile applications, in addition to content that delves into historical memory and cultural connections across the Strait.
As the debate over cross-Strait relations continues in Taiwan, Zhai said she remains committed to her current path.
Former Taiwan TV host bridges cross-Strait divide via online media
The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, announced on Thursday that it would cut certain interest rates and cut the downpayment ratio for commercial property mortgages, among other measures it is taking to support growth and facilitate structural improvements.
"The PBOC will cut the interest rates on all structural monetary policy tools by 0.25 percentage points. The one-year relending rate will be reduced from 1.5 percent to 1.25 percent, with rates for other maturities adjusted accordingly. The central bank will integrate the use of its relending and rediscount quotas to support agriculture and small businesses, with an additional 500 billion yuan (about 71.36 billion U.S. dollars) allocated to the relending facility. Within the total quota, a dedicated relending facility of 1 trillion yuan will be established specifically for private enterprises, prioritizing support for small and medium-sized private firms," said Zou Lan, spokesperson and deputy governor of the PBOC, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Beijing.
"The central bank has increased the loan quota for sci-tech innovation and tech transformation by 400 billion yuan (about 57.5 billion U.S. dollars) from 800 billion yuan (about 115 billion U.S. dollars to 1.2 trillion yuan (about 172.5 billion U.S. dollars). It has also included private small and medium-sized enterprises with higher levels of research and development investment in the support scope. The central bank will also merge the existing bond financing support tools for private enterprises and the risk-sharing tools for sci-tech innovation bonds, providing a total relending quota of 200 billion yuan (about 29 billion U.S. dollars)," said Zou.
"The PBOC will expand the support areas of the support tools for carbon emission reduction. More projects with carbon emission reduction effects, such as energy renovation, green upgrading, and green energy and low-carbon transformation, will be included to guide banks to support the comprehensive green transformation. The central bank will expand the support scope for service consumption and elderly care relending. Based on the criteria for recognizing the health industry, the health industry will be included in the support scope for service consumption and elderly care relending at an appropriate time," said the deputy governor.
"The central bank will work with the National Financial Regulatory Administration to lower the minimum downpayment ratio for commercial property mortgages to 30 percent, aiming to support the process of reducing inventory in the commercial real estate market. The central bank will encourage financial institutions to enhance their services for hedging against exchange-rate risks by enriching hedging products and providing enterprises with cost-effective, flexible and efficient exchange-rate risk management tools," he said.
Zou said that there is still some room for maneuver this year regarding the reduction of the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates in the banking sector, with the current average reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions at 6.3 percent. As for policy interest rates, he said external constraints for the RMB exchange rate are stable, and the U.S. dollar is in a rate-cutting channel. Internally, banks' net interest margins have shown signs of stabilization, holding at 1.42 percent for two consecutive quarters, he said.
A large number of three-year and five-year long-term deposits will mature in 2026 and need repricing, Zou added. The PBOC has lowered rates on various relending facilities to help reduce banks' interest payment costs, stabilize net interest margins, and create some space for interest rate cuts, Zou said.
China to cut rates, commercial property downpayment to support growth
