The Organizing Committee of the 16th Straits Forum

XIAMEN, China, June 17, 2024 — The 16th Straits Forum, jointly organized by 86 institutions from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, commenced on June 14th. This year’s forum theme remains “Expanding People-to-people Exchanges and Deepening Integrated Development”, with over 7,000 Taiwanese participants from various sectors joining the event.

The main conference is scheduled for Saturday at the forum’s primary location in Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, east China. Around 50 events are planned across various cities in the province.

The inaugural Straits Forum took place in 2009, a year marked by significant advancements in cross-Strait relations. During that year, the regular consultation mechanism between the mainland’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) was established, with the signing of six agreements.

In the same year, mainland companies formally began investing in Taiwan, and regular air services between the two sides were launched. This marked the complete establishment of direct cross-Strait mail, transportation, and trade links.

The Straits Forum serves as a crucial platform for promoting comprehensive exchanges between different sectors on both sides of the Strait and fostering cross-Strait people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. Over the past 15 years, more than 330,000 individuals from the mainland and Taiwan have participated in the forum. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands participated in forum events online or in person.

At these forums, a total of 139 preferential policies designed to boost cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation have been announced, encompassing areas such as air services, travel permits, employment, and investment. These policies have significantly expanded avenues for cross-Strait people-to-people exchanges.

This forum will feature events for workers, women, marriage, grass-roots governance, and other “local style” activities that directly impact people’s lives. It will also provide over 1600 job opportunities for young people in Taiwan.

Source: The Organizing Committee of the 16th Straits Forum

CONTACT: Contact person: Mr. Lin, Tel: 86-10-63074558