国内英语新闻:Grassroots cross-Strait forum opens in mainland with 10,000 expected Taiwanese guests

XIAMEN, Fujian, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Taiwan kicked off the largest-ever grassroots-forum in southeast China's city of Xiamen Saturday evening, as more than 10,000 Taiwanese are expected to participate during the next seven days.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), declared the opening of the weeklong Straits Forum before a huge audience at the International Convention and Exhibition Center of Xiamen.

Now in its second year, the forum will feature 25 activities including leisure chats, galas, and religious worship, instead of formal dialogues and policy-setting negotiations that dominate other major mainland-Taiwan exchanges.

Jia Qinglin(8th R), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attends the opening ceremony of the second Strait Forum in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, on June 19, 2010

Organizers said about 80 percent of the Taiwan participants this year would be non-officials and over 60 percent were from central or southern Taiwan.

"The forum is a landmark innovation of cross-Strait exchanges. It is a grand gathering of people from all sectors across the Taiwan Strait and a platform for grassroots civilians from both sides to communicate," said Wang Yi, head of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office.

On the stage, Wang surprsingly used Minnan dialect -- the mother tongue of most residents in central and southern Taiwan -- to greet the audience.

Wang urged people from the mainland and Taiwan to unite to push for peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Taiwan's ruling party Kuomintang's vice chairwoman, Huang Ming-hui, sang "Girls of Alishan Mountain" -- a well-known Taiwanese folk song at the opening ahead of a gala show.