Nearly 700 village heads from both sides of the Taiwan Straits gathered in Pingtan of Fujian Province on June 13 to attend the 2nd Cross-Straits Village Heads Communication Meeting.

As part of the 5th Common Homeland Forum, this meeting was a great opportunity for an exchange of views.

Many officials were in attendance, with Zhang Zhaoming, secretary of Pingtan's Party working committee, emphasizing the event's importance and saying that the foundation of the bond between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland lies in mutual communication between people on both sides of the Straits. Hence an effective cross-Straits exchange platform is considered necessary and significant.

Pingtan is working to become a common homeland for people on both sides and an international tourist destination, which needs everyone's cooperation, said Zhang.

The communication meeting is a good way to promote exchanges between village leaders and more such activities are expected to be launched to build better relations, said Chen Chaoming, a public representative of Taiwan.

During the meeting, cooperation contracts were signed and performances with distinctive cultural features were staged.