Cyclists spur cross-Straits harmony

Keeping a promise

The children loved long-distance cycle rides around the island, which helped build their stamina and confidence, so Yang came up with the idea of taking them to see more of the country via a cycling tour on the mainland.

However, he soon found himself in a dilemma as there were a lot of things to arrange — such as transportation, security and supplies — which made it difficult to organize a cross-provincial group cycling activity on the mainland.

To solve the problem, he registered an account on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, and sent his first post, asking if anyone was willing to help arrange the trip.

He received several enthusiastic responses from netizens, the media in Fujian and a couple of companies.

That prompted him to honor a promise he made to some orphaned children in the summer of 2012.

After cycling around Taiwan, Yang took the 35 children to Beijing by plane, and then led them on a ride south to Xiamen in Fujian.

The trip took roughly 40 days, with the children riding about 3,200 kilometers. Buses followed the cyclists, and the children used them if the roads were busy or dangerous, or if the weather was bad.

"It was a great journey, but tough. For the children, cycling was more than a means of transportation: it was a way of realizing self-growth. They accomplished a long-distance ride on the mainland, which many others could not," Yang said.

"The children traveled across the mountains and Straits to see the wider world. They helped each other and formed deep friendships with the mainland volunteers who accompanied them. At the time, many people were willing to support this cross-Straits sporting exchange because it helped disadvantaged youths from Taiwan ride across mainland provinces and learn about the local culture."

The program has continued since then, with participation being expanded to several middle schools in Taiwan, mostly in relatively backward and remote areas.

In the past decade, more than 900 teenagers from the island have taken part in cycling tours in more than 50 mainland cities, covering many thousands of kilometers in total.