A two-day forum on furthering exchanges in medical care between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan opened in Beijing on Monday.

Around 400 medical professionals will discuss issues including investment, hospital administration and employment opportunities.

"The forum is being held to implement the consensus reached between CPC Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao and Lien Chan, Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party in Taiwan, to promote cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation in medical care," said Yin Dakui, head of the China Medical Doctor Association.

The "China Medical Doctor Association" in the Chinese mainland and an association in Taiwan for promoting cross-Straits cooperation in medical care are jointly sponsoring the forum. They expressed their hope that the forum will become an annual event to provide a long-term platform for cross-Straits exchanges.

The forum is another major event in increasing exchanges across the Taiwan Straits, following a trade forum and an agricultural cooperation forum held recently by the CPC and the Kuomintang.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2006)