Full coverage: Cross-Strait Peaceful Development Forum

Hung Hsiu-chu was elected chairwoman of the Kuomintang Party, the opposition party in Taiwan, in March this year. And, today marks her first visit to the mainland as leader of the party. The delegation is set to attend the "Cross-Strait Peace Development Forum", formerly known as the "Cross-Strait Trade, Economy and Culture Forum." The forum, also known as the KMT-CPC Forum, has been held 10 times since 2006. It has become an important platform for interaction and dialogue between the two parties.

Both parties uphold the "1992 Consensus" principles in handling cross-strait issues, and have made a series of achievements since 2008. In November 2015, Ma Ying-jeou and President Xi Jinping met and shook hands in Singapore, marking the first ever meeting between leaders of both sides since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. However, people in Taiwan have become worried since Tsai Ing-wen took office on May 20th this year. Since then, cross-strait relations have cooled to a "freezing point", with all official channels of communication suspended.

Under the current circumstances, interaction between the two parties and efforts to consolidate common ground, will have a positive impact on peace and stability across the strait.