On a day when the Chiang-Chen meeting grabbed most of the spotlight, ex-DPP lawmaker Luo Wen-jia and Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan announced that they will jointly establish cross-strait cultural exchange offices, to create a non-political platform for civilian dialogues between both sides, so that issues marginalized by the authorities, such as democracy and human rights, can be put back into focus.

On the same day that the 6th Chiang-Chen summit opened at the Grand Hotel,

former DPP legislator Luo Wen-jia and Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan announced the establishment of a cross-strait democracy and cultural exchange research unit aimed at creating a non-partisan platform for promoting civic dialogue.

The KMT's cross-strait exchanges in recent years have take place in spite of the DPP's efforts to block them.

The DPP, meanwhile, has been busy establishing a slew of China-themed think tanks.

Luo blasted both parties for having "blind spots" when it comes to cross-strait exchanges, saying that the KMT can only see China's economic market while the DPP can only see sovereignty issues.

Therefore, he hopes that his research unit can help bring about bottom-up civic dialogue and promote cross-strait exchanges through the power of democracy.