He Ying, a girl from Wuxi, is overjoyed at winning the "I am the Chinese New Girl" Cross-Straits Writing Competition.

At the award ceremony held in the Taiwan Hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing yesterday, He, newly married to a Taiwanese man, said her marriage and the competition victory are both the fruits of more frequent cross-Straits exchanges.

For Albert Yu, chair of the Board of the China Times Group, the conclusion of the writing competition signifies the beginning of another co-operation.

At the award ceremony, the New Girl magazine owned by the China Times Group in Taiwan, officially embraces the launch of its mainland counterpart, a same title monthly magazine owned by Women of China Magazine. "It is the first time a local Taiwan magazine will have the same title on the mainland," he said.

In a congratulation speech before the ceremony, Gu Xiulian, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and President of the All-China Women's Federation, said the co-operation between the China Times Group and the Women of China Magazine is very constructive.

She said she hopes the new mainland-published magazine will not only be a popular magazine for girls, but also serve as a communication platform for young women across the Straits to have closer interactions and exchanges.

New Girl is a monthly magazine started five years ago in Taiwan and targeted at local young women. The mainland version will also aim at teenage girl readers and the two magazines will provide more opportunities for cross-Straits exchanges and joint programmes.
 
Editor: Catherine