Beijing hosts festival to boost cross-Strait exchange among social organizations

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A festival to boost exchange among social organizations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait kicked off on Thursday in Beijing, drawing more than 360 guests from nearly 100 Taiwan-based social organizations.

Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the event, Zhang Zhijun, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, urged efforts to bolster cross-Strait interaction and friendship, expand cross-Strait cooperation in various fields, and forge closer bonds between people on both sides of the Strait, thus adding momentum to the unstoppable trend of national reunification.

At the opening ceremony, representatives from the culture and arts sectors on both sides of the Strait performed shows that included song, dance and a variety of other art forms. Thursday also saw the opening of a fair featuring roughly 40 stalls selling food and cultural specialties from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Following the opening ceremony, a series of in-depth dialogues for social organizations on both sides of the Strait will be hosted, along with on-the-ground tours on the mainland arranged for guests from Taiwan.