Chen Li-chun (top) and her creation of a political cartoon (above) opposing former United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

Chen Li-chun's creations focus on the lives of ordinary workers.

An anti-war painting by Chen Li-chun, a young artist from Taiwan, has received widespread support from people on both sides of the Strait, inspiring her to bravely advocate cross-Strait peace and reunification.

Chen, 27, began painting at a very young age and often uses her brush to convey her thoughts in the hope of bringing positive change to society.

The tense atmosphere in the Taiwan Strait triggered by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year spurred Chen to respond.

Hundreds of millions of Chinese people were outraged as Pelosi, traveling in a military aircraft, arrived in Taipei on the evening of Aug 2 despite strong opposition from the Chinese mainland.

The island's ruling Democratic Progressive Party made full use of the US politician's two-day high-profile trip, arranging a meeting between her and island leader Tsai Ing-wen and a visit to the island's "legislative" authority.

In the wake of the provocative trip that violated the commitments the US had made to Beijing on upholding the one-China principle, the mainland undertook unprecedented countermeasures, such as conducting live-fire drills around the island.

Chen for the first time sensed war was in her backyard and was angry that some politicians had welcomed Pelosi's trip. "Anger and sadness drove me to draw, and a strong sense of helplessness made me grit my teeth and stay up late to finish this artwork," she said.

Chen finished her drawing just hours after Pelosi's plane landed, and it went viral instantly, being shared by many people on both sides of the Strait as it advocates keeping the shadow of war away.

The top portion of the picture shows Pelosi wearing a pink suit, her mouth painted bright red to indicate she was sucking Taiwan people's blood. Behind her, a tank with a slightly damaged Ukrainian flag suggested she was a warmonger.

In the middle of the drawing, Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen is shown standing surrounded by smoke, a rocket launcher on her shoulder, and her hands tied by a puppet string held by Pelosi.

Explaining her painting, Chen said: "Tsai's administration is controlled by the US. Whatever the US asks them to do, they must do, and this is harming the Taiwan people."

At the bottom of the artwork is a little girl holding an incense stick and kneeling in prayer in front of a US plane. The idea is to criticize those in Taiwan who were excited by Pelosi's visit, and were treating her as some god, Chen said.

Chen said some of her ignorant friends expressed excitement at Pelosi's visit and welcomed her, without realizing the impact and harm it would have on cross-Strait ties. "I felt it was my responsibility to speak up against this provocation," she said.

In fact, Chen said, the kneeling girl in her painting also stands for the silenced Taiwan people who cannot express themselves freely.

"We pray, but we cannot beg the shadow of war to leave our homes. All I could do was to draw this to express my anger," she said.

To her surprise, the picture generated a lot of reactions online, both criticism as well as support.

"Most importantly, people who saw it have started thinking how they should view cross-Strait relations," Chen said.

"Those with children are the ones who support me. Even if they don't know much about the mainland or the Communist Party of China, they still believe that Taiwan and the mainland should not go to war," she said.

She recalled that she had found support for her work from a friend whose husband is a soldier in Taiwan, while on social networking sites her painting received likes from friends who generally support the US.

The feedback she has received made her realize that in the face of adversity, ordinary people want peace, a fact that the media in Taiwan often ignores.

It has also emboldened her to post her creations and thoughts on social networking sites.

Chen, who recently got admission to do a master's degree in art from Jinan University in Guangdong province, plans to make a larger drawing on the topic in the future.

She was recently filming a documentary on political victims of Taiwan's "white terror", a four-decade crackdown on political dissent imposed by island authorities between 1947 and 1987.

Chen's natural pursuit of cross-Strait peace and reunification since childhood is rooted in her family's patriotic tradition. Both her grandfather and granduncle were political victims of Taiwan's "white terror" in the 1950s. While her granduncle was sentenced to death, her grandfather was imprisoned for 15 years.

As is the tradition in her family, Chen believes that only cross-Strait reunification will bring an end to Taiwan people's century-long suffering.

Chen had predicted there would be tensions across the Strait this year, as the DPP hyped up cross-Strait relations in the run-up to elections in January and some US politicians colluded with them.

However, she firmly believes that cross-Strait reunification is inevitable and Taiwan people will understand the reunification of the two sides better after learning more about the mainland and the CPC's initiatives.

Due to long-term political factors, Chen said most of her generation has not participated in cross-Strait exchanges much, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the past three years has further hampered such exchanges.

"It is only after actually taking part in cross-Strait exchanges that one understands how Taiwan and the mainland are inseparable," she said.

For Taiwan youth who want to pursue employment, entrepreneurship, and academic research, Chen believes that they need to cooperate with the mainland.

She has visited the mainland many times. In May, Chen came to Beijing to participate in a cross-Strait exchange event. It was her first visit to the mainland after the pandemic.

She said she was amazed at the rapid pace of development in Beijing — the huge infrastructure, skyscrapers, and buildings that were lit up all night impressed her.

"Beijing is developing so fast, something that is difficult to see from Taiwan," she said, adding, "It is only after coming here that I appreciate it."

Contact the reporter at zhangyi1@chinadaily.com.cn