Ma Ying-jeou: Emotions and communication between the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait cannot be interrupted.

The 17th Cross-Strait Forum Conference was held in Xiamen this morning. Former chairman of the Kuomintang Ma Ying-jeou led a group of Taiwanese youth to attend. In his speech at the conference, Ma Ying-jeou said that the emotions and exchanges between the people on both sides of the strait are unbreakable. No political force can suppress or prevent the sincere exchanges between the people on both sides, nor can it block the natural emotions of the Chinese people on both sides sharing the same origins. Only through uninterrupted communication and understanding can misunderstandings be reduced, misjudgments avoided, trust and consensus established, and opportunities for cooperation and development jointly sought. Only by adhering to peaceful development across the strait, deepening cooperation on the basis of the "1992 Consensus" and opposing "Taiwan independence", can both sides create a win-win situation of peace. Ma Ying-jeou also expressed hope that more young people from Taiwan would come to the mainland for exchanges in the future, and that more people from the mainland would come to Taiwan to visit.