Cultural leaders from across the Taiwan Strait gathered in Beijing this week for the second Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit, reaffirming shared heritage while taking a firm stance against separatist agendas. The event brought together political representatives and cultural custodians to discuss preserving China's millennia-old traditions while addressing contemporary challenges.
Song Tao, leading both the Communist Party of China Central Committee's Taiwan Work Office and the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, opened the forum by emphasizing cultural unity as the 'spiritual lifeline' connecting communities. He called for collective efforts to combat what he described as attempts to 'erase Chinese cultural identity' on the island of Taiwan.
Hung Hsiu-chu, former Kuomintang chairperson and current head of the Taiwan-based Chinese Cyan Geese Peace Education Foundation, proposed concrete collaboration frameworks. 'From digitizing ancient texts to co-producing cultural content, our shared DNA demands joint stewardship,' she stated, highlighting opportunities in creative industries and academic exchanges.
The summit's main forum featured scholars discussing innovative approaches to cultural preservation, including AI-assisted archiving of traditional arts and cross-strait youth exchange programs. Participants agreed to establish working groups focused on standardizing cultural terminology and developing joint heritage protection protocols.
