BEIJING -- The Chinese mainland welcomes and supports more young people in Taiwan to take part in cross-Strait exchanges, a mainland spokeswoman said on Wednesday, as a new poll shows rising support for national reunification among the island's youth.

The poll, which was conducted in Taiwan, indicated that among young people aged 20 to 29, the proportion leaning toward "Taiwan independence" has declined in recent years, while support for reunification across the Taiwan Strait has steadily increased.

Commenting on the findings at a regular press conference, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, stressed that the mainland will support more frequent interactions between young people from both sides, since they are the ones who carry the future of cross-Strait relations.

Zhu criticized Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities for aggressively promoting separatist fallacies, restricting bilateral exchanges, and creating "information cocoons" to mislead Taiwan people, especially the younger generation.

"Such actions run counter to history and facts. They will become increasingly unpopular and are doomed to fail," said Zhu, calling for more young people from across the Strait to work side by side for national reunification and rejuvenation.