As the closest mainland Chinese province to Taiwan, Fujian is a key site for Beijing’s messaging towards the island. In the second of a two-part series, Xinlu Liang looks at how the ancestral home village of William Lai Ching-te has become a focus for efforts to promote closer ties based on kinship and religion.

Chen, better known as “Gym Boss”, was on a tour of the mainland and live-streamed his visit to the village to his 1.3 million followers, including his stop at the Lai Clan Ancestral Hall.

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