Kevin C.L. Chen, secretary-general of the Taipei-based Sheen Chuen-Chi Cultural and Educational Foundation, also left for Xiamen Friday morning.
Although a regular visitor to the mainland, he still has plans for the Strait Forum.
"The forum offers a good platform to meet mainland friends that share the same ideas. Once we agree on some programs, we can initiate them effectively," he said.
His foundation has been working to promote cultural cooperation across the Strait.
"The United States has Hollywood. India has Bollywood. Why not a 'Huallywood' across the Strait?" he asked. "Since we belong to the same Chinese culture, the two sides should jointly promote it to the world."
Taipei lawyer Hsu Wun-pin considered his trip to Xiamen a journey home.
"My family moved from Fujian to southern Taiwan in the 17th Century. In the family cemetery at Tainan, we still have a stele with the inscription of the name of our hometown on the mainland," he said.
Five years ago, he visited Fujian and found his ancestral home in a small township of Xiamen.
"Many Taiwan people, especially in southern Taiwan, are descended from people from southern Fujian. We are brothers and sisters. So folks should visit each other more frequently," he said.
