Beijing's 18th Straits Forum, a platform for cross-strait engagement, is being held in Xiamen amid tightened restrictions by Taiwan's ruling DPP. For the first time, the DPP has explicitly banned Taiwan's municipal and county government officials from participating.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office has reorganized, renaming its functional bureaus to numbered divisions and adding a new '10th Bureau' focused on facilitating Taiwanese participation in study, internships, employment, and entrepreneurship in China. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council views this as an intensified effort to promote cross-strait integration.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office announced a series of cross-Strait integration events centered around the "Minchao" Fujian provincial football league, including adding two Taiwanese players per team. An academic criticized the overt political messaging, citing a "One China" jersey shown during the announcement.
