Chen Binhua, a former reporter with lengthy experience working in Taiwan, made his debut on Wednesday as a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

At a news conference in Beijing, Chen, who became the deputy director of the information bureau of the Taiwan Affairs Office earlier this year, greeted reporters from both sides of the Strait in Mandarin and Hokkien, a dialect which is spoken in Fujian province and Taiwan.

Chen, 51, is from Zhao'an, a county in Zhangzhou in southern Fujian. After graduating from the department of Chinese language and literature at Xiamen University, he joined Xinhua News Agency in 1993.

In February 2001, as part of the first group of journalists from the mainland, he went to Taiwan on a one-month reporting trip. On arriving at the airport in Taiwan, Chen greeted the crowd in fluent Hokkien, making a deep impression on the local media.

During his stay in Taiwan, Chen was famous for engaging in a heated debate with the then-deputy director of Taiwan's "mainland affairs council "during a news conference in September 2001. He questioned the accuracy of the spokesman's hostile speech about the mainland.

In later years, he traveled around the island and wrote several books, including Enjoy Taiwan, sharing his experiences on the island.

"Through exchanges with people from various sectors and places in Taiwan, I have gained a comprehensive understanding of their work, daily lives and thoughts. This has provided me with deeper insights into the Taiwan question," Chen said.

"It will be helpful for me in my role as the spokesman to effectively introduce the mainland's policies to Taiwan, using expressions that our compatriots, especially those in Taiwan, are willing to listen to and can understand."

Commenting on the recent deterioration in the cross-Strait relations, Chen said he believes that as long as the people on both sides work together, the "spring" of extensive exchanges and development across the Strait will arrive.

After joining the Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen served as deputy director of the research bureau, and later moved to the position of deputy director of the economic bureau.

The Taiwan Affairs Office has had eight spokespersons, including the current spokespersons Zhu Fenglian and Chen.