Xiamen's Haicang district, the permanent venue of the Cross-Straits Humanities Forum, is considered a "gene bank" of Fujian-Taiwan culture. [Photo/haicang.gov.cn]

The 2nd Cross-Straits Humanities Forum kicked off in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on Oct 19. The event revolves around the integrative development of humanities on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

The forum gathered more than 100 specialists and scholars in the field of humanities and was supervised by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Discussion centered on modern Chinese history, Chinese tradition and modernity, and the current situation of humanities-related research and development in China, with the goal of creating new opportunities for the development of culture and the humanities on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

Zhao Qi, secretary-general of the CASS, said in his speech that the forum was based on common cultural roots between people from the two sides of the Taiwan Straits and that it will boost cultural communication and exchanges across the Straits.

Taiwan scholar Lyu Jheng Huei, who has attended several cultural and educational exchanges in the Chinese mainland, spoke highly of the forum. He hoped that people from both sides of the Taiwan Straits would work together to strengthen mutual understanding through studying Chinese culture. He also encouraged young people in Taiwan to engage in cultural exchange activities and honor their cultural identity.