'No political force' can stop cross-strait exchanges: Ex-President Ma

Taipei, June 15 (CNA) Former Republic of China (Taiwan) President Ma Ying‑jeou (馬英九) attended the 17th Straits Forum held in the city of Xiamen in China's Fujian Province on Sunday, telling the audience that "no political force" can prevent cross-strait exchanges.

Ma, who is leading a delegation from his Ma Ying‑jeou Foundation from June 14-27, told the forum that "continuous people-to-people exchanges" are the only way to "effectively reduce misunderstandings and hostility."

"Whether in language, customs, food or human sentiment, we can feel a lot of resonance, that lets us deeply understand that the connection between the two sides is inseparable," Ma said.

"No political force can suppress or prevent sincere exchanges between people on both sides of the Strait, let alone block the natural feelings of the Chinese people on both sides of the strait who share the same roots and origins," he continued.

Ma told the audience that this trip is his fourth visit to mainland China and his first trip to Xiamen, located "less than 10 kilometers" from Taiwan's outlying islands of Kinmen County.

"Kinmen and Xiamen are the epitome of cross-strait exchanges and a concrete manifestation of cross-strait peace," Ma said, after mentioning tourism and trade links between the two places.

Shortly before the forum, Ma also met with Wang Huning (王滬寧), a member of the 7-member Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The CPPCC is an organization of the "Chinese people's patriotic united front" that is required to adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, according to its official website.

Later on Sunday, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) -- a ministry-level department that handles cross-strait relations from the Taiwan side -- suggested that Ma's meetings with Chinese officials were "deeply regretful."

"The Straits Forum is a platform for the CCP's united front against Taiwan," the MAC said, referring to Beijing's attempts to undermine Taiwanese sovereignty through coordinated influence activities.

"Anyone who goes to the mainland to participate in exchange activities should safeguard the sovereignty and dignity of the country and the interests of the Taiwanese people," the MAC said.