Sidelights

Big thanks from little girl

Four-year-old Chen Yu'an finally got a chance yesterday to thank Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) President Chen Yunlin. The Taiwan girl presented flowers to him and his wife Lai Xiaohua at the Grand Hotel in Taipei to great applause from the guests around. Lai gave a big hug to the little girl, and Chen Yunlin patted her affectionately.

Chen Yu'an was born prematurely in May 2004 in Shanghai, where her father was working. After staying at a Shanghai hospital for seven months, she was still in a critical condition and had to be moved to Taiwan for medical treatment. Chen Yunlin, then minister of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, arranged her ship journey to the island in December 2004. The trip from Xiamen on the mainland to Jinmen in Taiwan was the first direct link between the two cities since 1949, and helped Chen Yu'an avoid the circuitous flight to Taiwan via Hong Kong.