Moving Toward Each Other Across the Strait: The 18th Straits Forum Held in Fujian

The 18th Straits Forum was recently held in Fujian. Centered on the theme of “expanding peopletopeople exchanges and deepening integrated development,” it featured four major sections and 58 activities, attracting compatriots from all walks of life across both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The forum has continued its positioning as a peopleoriented, grassroots, and broadbased platform, and will keep playing an important role in promoting exchanges and interactions across the Strait and enhancing mutual understanding. The report noted that in activities such as the “Straits Folklore Forum,” representatives from clans with the same ancestral roots on both sides of the Strait verified genealogies and exchanged family letters, demonstrating their shared blood ties. Related activities such as sistervillage exchanges, basketball invitational tournaments, and music exchange seasons also reflect the continued warming of peopletopeople interactions across the Strait, with more diverse forms of exchange. The article also focused on cooperation in employment and talent development. A Taiwan talent matching fair held in Xiamen offered multiple job openings and was accompanied by support policies for internships, entrepreneurship, and settling down, reflecting measures on the mainland side to promote integrated development across the Strait. The article believes that the trend of compatriots on both sides of the Strait growing closer and more connected will not change, and that peopletopeople exchanges and pragmatic cooperation will continue to advance.