As one of the 50 events of the 16th Straits Forum, the Mazu cultural activity week kicked off on Meizhou Island of Putian City, southeast China's Fujian Province, on Friday.

Featuring the themes of "Chinese affection for Mazu and both sides of the Taiwan Straits being one family," the week-long activities, by highlighting youth interaction, grassroots exchanges, and economic and trade integration, are aimed at consolidating kinship and seeking well-being for people across the Straits.

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Facilitating cross-Straits spiritual bonding

Mazu, a revered goddess of the sea, is a deified young woman named Lin Mo who is believed to have lived in the 10th century on Meizhou Island, where she dedicated herself to helping people in need and died during a rescue of shipwreck victims at the age of 27.

After her death, local people regarded her as a goddess protecting those who depended on the sea for a living. When leaving harbor, sailors and fishermen would venerate her statue and pray for her help so that they would return home safely, and with a big catch.

Belief in Mazu has long been shared on both sides of the Straits.

The first direct sea trip between the two sides of the Straits since the founding of New China was initiated by fishermen from Yilan in Taiwan in 1989, when they escorted a Mazu statue from the Taiwan region to Meizhou before the official commencement of direct cross-Straits sea routes.

In 1997, another statue of Mazu from Meizhou went on a 102-day tour of Taiwan, where more than 10 million people paid homage and worshipped it.

In September 2023, a 10-day Mazu statue pilgrimage ritual in Putian attracted over 500 Taiwan compatriots from 18 counties and cities in Taiwan.

Each year, over 300,000 Taiwan compatriots visit Meizhou for pilgrimages and sightseeing, according to local authorities.

When Fujian Province was assigned in September as a demonstration zone for cross-Straits integrated development by a circular jointly issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, it was asked to strive for various forms of exchanges based on the two regions' bond of the belief in Mazu and other folk beliefs.

The circular also suggested the two regions promote integrated development in culture, and jointly apply for the World Cultural Heritage listing of Minnan red-brick buildings and Mazu cultural relics.

"Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits share the same roots and have an inextricable cultural and emotional connection. Mazu culture is an important bridge and link that maintains the emotions of people across the Straits, and is the witness and continuation of their bloodline affinity," said Wu Cheng-tien, chairman of Taiwan's New Party, at the opening ceremony of the Mazu cultural activity week on Friday.

Noting Mazu belief is a common cultural imprint shared by both sides, Sun Dechong, executive vice president of the All-China Federation of Taiwan Enterprises and executive vice president of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, said it has a unique advantage in being used to promote cross-Straits integrated development and facilitate the spiritual bonding of people across the Straits.