800,000 of Taiwan's 22 million people move to china
SHANGHAI -- Jimmy Li was an ordinary Taiwanese cop. He never expected to find a new career in mainland China, much less settle down there with his wife, two kids and his mother-in-law.
But a nine-room apartment, a live-in maid, a chauffeur, great food, sports and shopping in a culturally familiar setting at a fraction of the cost at home made the decision a no-brainer.
Forget about missile shields and submarines. Forget that the governments in Beijing and Taipei are among the world's most implacable foes. The Taiwanese are in love with China, and particularly crazy about Shanghai. Fifty-two years ago, mainlanders packed ships and fled as China fell under Communist control. Today, they are packing up their households and heading back.
An estimated 800,000 of Taiwan's 22 million people now live full or part time on the mainland. As many as 300,000 of them are in Shanghai, China's new city of dreams. More are on the way, lured by headlines and bestsellers touting Shanghai as a 21st century metropolis they can't afford to miss.
Full article at latimes.com |
