The exchange among women on the two sides of the Taiwan Straits had helped lubricate the across-straits relations, said Lin Mingyue, head of Shanghai Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (SFTC) on Wednesday.

Lin made the remark when attending the 10th National Women's Congress held in Beijing from Tuesday morning.

"Since 1997 when the mainland sent its first women delegation to Taiwan, the channels of exchange have been expanded, and the ways, diversified," She said.

Born and bred in Taiwan, Lin went to the United States for further study after graduating from National Taiwan University. In 1980, she and her husband gave up favorable lives in the US and came back to China to work for the Shanghai Port Authority.

Two years later, she started dedicating her life to the exchange between the women across the Taiwan Straits. She had witnessed their strengthening relationship over the last two decades.

"In September 2006, more than 700 women from Taiwan took part in a series of cross-straits exchanges with mainland women," she said. "And more than 140 of them paid a special visit to Shanghai.

"Women tend to greet each other as sisters, so they trust more easily.

"The exchange between women also influenced their family and children," she said. "In the long term, it is very significant."

Since the 1990s, The SFTC has cooperated with Taiwan women organizations to host the Taiwan college student's summer camps every year in Shanghai. In recent years, high school and primary students were also invited.

In an essay contest, a pupil from Taiwan wrote an essay titled "Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei are all my homes" to express his equal affection for his parent's hometown, namely Beijing, Taipei and his present home Shanghai.

"In November, 200 students from high school and primary school will come here for an art exchange event," Lin said, "We will hold painting exhibitions and concerts for them."

A delegate of east China's Zhejiang Province said the local music works brought to Taiwan last year were warmly reviewed and he hoped to strengthen such exchange.

"Exchange through educational and cultural channels and visiting to friends and relatives will boost the cross-straits relations effectively" said Chen Wen, a Taiwan delegate to the Congress, adding that she expected more of such activities.

Lin Mingyue said the exchange between women actually made a great contribution to the positive change in cross-straits relations this year.

"It's Like timely rain in spring which moistens all things softly, without sound," she quoted a line of Chinese ancient poetry.

Lin said more than 300,000 Taiwan women worked in Shanghai and neighboring cities and they are all active participants of the charity events like planting trees.

Besides, Shanghai municipal government had invited Taiwan women to make proposals for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

"All this gave them a sense of fulfillment," Lin said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2008)