Wang Fuqing, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, attended the opening ceremony of the five-day event Monday at the prestigious Tsinghua University.

In the past years, exchanges between young people across the Taiwan Straits have progressed well, according to Deng Peide, director of the Beijing Municipal Taiwan Affairs Office.

Facts show that promoting communication among young people from both sides of the straits benefits all Chinese people, Deng said.

The five-day event will help further young Taiwanese' understanding of the mainland and deepen the friendship between young people from Beijing and Taiwan, he added.

David U.C. Liang, a professor at the Taiwan University of Science and Technology, said that Beijing is the host city of the 2008 Olympic Games and young people from across the straits should pool their efforts to show the wisdom of the Chinese people to the world.

The young people from Taiwan will visit Beijing's best known historical sites, interview people in Beijing's suburbs, have a look at Beijing's high-tech enterprises, and attend a series of lectures on Chinese culture.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2002)