Visiting Chairman of the People First Party (PFP) James Soong
said in Nanjing Saturday morning that people from both Taiwan and
the mainland hope to "unite again," which is "a historical
trend."?
After paying his homage at the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen
(1866-1925), founder of the Kuomintang (KMT), Soong said that
people from both sides of the Taiwan Straits should put on steam to
achieve reunification of the nation.
People from Taiwan and the mainland should also endeavor for
their common prosperity, said Soong.
Soong and his PFP delegation were warmly welcomed at Sun's
mausoleum.
Right after homage paying to Sun's mausoleum, Soong met with Li
Yuanchao, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC)
Jiangsu Provincial Committee.
Soong said progress in Nanjing, capital of the economically
developed Jiangsu
Province, is "stunning."
Nanjing is Soong's second leg of his nine-day mainland trip. He
chose Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi
Province, as his first stop and paid respects at the mausoleum
of Huangdi, regarded as the common ancestor of all the Chinese
people worldwide.
Soong and his delegation will leave Nanjing Saturday afternoon
for Shanghai, the booming business hub in the mainland.
In Shanghai, Soong is scheduled to visit Wang Daohan, president
of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits -- a
major nongovernmental conduit for cross-Straits contacts, and meet
with head of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and
representatives for Taiwan business community in Shanghai.
The PFP delegation is here at the invitation of the CPC Central
Committee and its General Secretary Hu
Jintao. One of the highlights of Soong's mainland trip will be
his meeting with Hu.
In a similar endeavor, the KMT delegation, led by Chairman Lien
Chan, just wrapped up their eight-day mainland visit Tuesday.
(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2005)