The 8th cross-Strait grassroots governance forum, a key element of the 17th Straits Forum, was held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, on June 15. 

The forum brought together more than 400 representatives from grassroots communities and various sectors across the Taiwan Strait for discussions on improving rural living environments.

Su Hui, vice-chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairwoman of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League Central Committee, addressed the opening ceremony.

Su noted that since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012, the CPC Central Committee has made rural vitalization the overarching strategy for work related to agriculture, rural areas, and farmers in the new era. The 20th CPC National Congress outlined major plans to promote rural vitalization and build a beautiful and harmonious countryside for people to live and work in. The third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee further proposed drawing on Zhejiang province's Green Rural Revival Program to improve long-term mechanisms for all-round rural vitalization efforts.

This year's forum, Su said, coincides with the 20th anniversary of the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". It aims to pool wisdom and strength from both sides of the Strait to jointly build a better homeland and advance the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, she noted.

She emphasized the deep roots, cultural ties, and aspirations for rural development shared among people on both sides of the Strait, calling on compatriots from both sides to work together, exchange experiences in rural ecological governance, carry forward Chinese cultural traditions, and jointly write a new chapter in building a beautiful and harmonious countryside.

The cross-Strait grassroots governance forum was organized by the Committee on Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of the CPPCC National Committee and the CPPCC Fujian Provincial Committee. The forum was first held in 2018 and serves as an institutional platform for promoting cross-Strait exchanges and deepening integrated development.