As an expert in the field of green and low-carbon technology, political adviser Cai Rui, whose proposals are related to the application of China's scientific and technological achievements, energy industry security and integrated development across the Taiwan Strait, entered the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this week.

Over the past 20 years, Cai — a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, director of the Department of Science and Technology of Liaoning province and a member of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League — has dedicated himself to the research and development of new energy-related technologies such as membrane separation and catalysis, making significant contributions to the development of China's green and low-carbon sectors.

"My experience is very simple. I went from being a student to a researcher, and from working at a research institution to a management department," Cai, 47, said. "During my over 20 years of work, I spent most of my time at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Liaoning. In the past decades, which was a golden period for the development of national scientific and technological innovation, I was fortunate to have witnessed the rapid development of China's scientific research industry."

He said that from basic research to applied research, he has participated in and witnessed a number of groundbreaking achievements in China, helping in the transition from "lagging behind" other nations to running "parallel" with them and then "leading". The DICP was the first to propose new concepts such as single-atom catalysis and nano-confined catalysis in the world, and has realized the practical applications of these concepts.

About 80 years ago, his grandmother moved to Jiangsu province from Taiwan. He spent most of his childhood with her.

"Our ancestors were born in Taiwan, but with a deep sense of patriotism, they actively contributed to the construction of New China. I must inherit the fine tradition of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League's predecessors in serving the motherland and perform my daily duties well," he said.

After obtaining his doctorate in 2005, Cai went to the University of California, Riverside in the United States for post-doctoral studies. He then returned to work at the DICP.

"Peng Huanwu, a senior scientist at the CAS, once said, 'There is no need for a reason to return to the country, it is only when not returning to the country that a reason is needed.' I deeply agree. The dream of returning to the country is also part of the Chinese dream, which is the 'magnetic field effect' of the rise of the motherland on the world stage," he said.

Over the past 20 years, Cai has met many Taiwan compatriot researchers working on the mainland. Since 2011, the CAS has run the Taiwan Youth Visiting Scholars Program, and 105 outstanding young scholars from Taiwan have been selected to conduct scientific research for 6-12 months in the institute. In addition, the academy and the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan jointly initiated the Cross-Strait Industrial Technology Exchange Forum, which has had eight sessions.

Cai said that in just over a month after Spring Festival this year, he has met more than 10 Taiwan businessmen and young people who have come to Dalian and Shenyang, capital of Liaoning. "Some of them have mature cooperation plans and have shown a strong willingness to come work on the Chinese mainland, while others want to better understand the development environment and mainland policies to determine whether to come to the mainland for development in the future. I think that helping compatriots on both sides of the Strait achieve deeper integration and development will be our most important task of the TDSGL in the future," Cai said.

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn