Published : 2025-05-16
On May 16, 2009, the first Cross-Strait Forum was inaugurated at the Xiamen Exhibition Centre in Fujian Province. The then Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), attended the forum and declared it open.
The Cross-Strait Forum was the largest, most attended, and most extensive civil exchange event between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait at that time, encompassing areas such as economy, culture, education, and religion.
It allowed representatives from both sides to exchange experiences and transmit the treasures of Chinese culture.
The opening ceremony was hosted by then Governor of Fujian Province, Huang Xiaojing (黃小晶), and more than 6,500 people from various sectors on both sides attended.
Wang Yi (王毅), the then Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, stated in his welcome speech that the gathering of relatives and siblings from both sides of the Taiwan Strait signified that civil exchanges between the two sides have reached a new level and entered a new stage.
It also fully showed that people from both sides are the main subjects of cross-strait exchanges and interactions, and are becoming the core driving force in promoting the continuous progress of cross-strait relations. Compatriots on both sides of the strait are one family, and China, including the mainland and Taiwan, is the common home of compatriots on both sides.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chu Li-lun (朱立倫), the then Vice Chairman of the Kuomintang and Magistrate of Taoyuan County, Taiwan, noted that the exchanges during the Cross-Strait Forum could shorten the distance between each other and resolve many misunderstandings.
He expected that future development in various aspects such as economy, trade, culture, and education across the strait would make significant progress.
With the theme "Expanding Civil Exchanges, Strengthening Cross-Strait Cooperation, Promoting Common Development," the Cross-Strait Forum was specifically created as a platform to strengthen exchanges among ordinary people on both sides.
The first forum was held from May 15 to 22, 2009, in Xiamen, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Putian, and other places in Fujian, featuring 18 large-scale economic and cultural exchange events across four major sections.
Over 8,000 people from various sectors and counties and cities in Taiwan participated in the series of forum activities.
