An intern selected from among more than a million candidates in China, 24-year- old Luo Xingcheng, said Monday that he considers himself lucky to have had the chance to observe cross-Taiwan Strait differences for two months. He was among a group of interns sponsored in 2009 by the Mainland Affairs Council, which provided each of them with a round-trip flight ticket, a monthly allowance of NT$20,000 (US$620) and a materials subsidy of NT$20,000. Luo, a graduate student from Nankai University in northern China's Tianjin Province, said he came to experience Taiwan and found that the differences between Taiwan and China are obvious, particularly in education and the media's work environment. 'The impact on me was huge, ' Luo said, adding that 'Taiwan's media developed earlier so it has become more mature and is more objective in handling news issues.' Luo and seven other interns were received as the first group of interns for 2009 by Chinese Culture University College of Journalism and Communication. They were scheduled to return to China Wednesday following their stay, which included a two-week trip around Taiwan, a month-long internship in media organizations, and two weeks for essay-writing. The next group of eight interns were scheduled to arrive Thursday. Hsia Shi-fen, a staff member from Chinese Culture University, said the interns got a very good impression of Taiwan and the Taiwanese people, and also experienced the country's open media environment during their stay. After two months in the company of the Chinese interns, Hsia went on, some of the local students have also altered their impressions about Chinese students. 'The Taiwanese students thought the Chinese visitors would not be well off, but in fact they were quite willing to spend money, 'Hsia added. 