The eighth Global Mazu Culture Forum was held on Meizhou Island in Putian, East China's Fujian province, on Nov 18. Su Hui, vice-chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, attended and addressed the event. 

Su, also chairwoman of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League Central Committee, said that Mazu culture is a treasure of traditional Chinese culture and an important spiritual bond of national identity among compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Since Mazu folk belief and customs were included in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, it has become a common spiritual wealth of all humanity and an important carrier to promote people-to-people exchanges and share the development achievements among countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. 

She noted that the forum, through advocating the spirit of Mazu's virtue, beneficence, and love, as well as the concept of maritime civilization, which promotes peace, cooperation, and harmony, aims to advance the mutual learning between Mazu culture and global civilizations, injecting profound and lasting cultural strength into the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. 

The forum was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the governments of the Macao Special Administrative Region and Fujian province. Five parallel forums were arranged, including an international seminar on Mazu culture and two forums on the integrated development of the cultural and tourism sector and the healthcare industry between Fujian and Taiwan.