Chairman James CY Soong of Taiwan’s People First Party (PFP) arrived at Shanghai on Saturday afternoon for the third leg of his nine-day mainland visit.

 

Soong said in a brief speech at the airport that his delegation aims to learn more about China's reform and opening up, businesspeople’s expectations for the "three direct links" across the Taiwan Straits and the potential of and hope for China's future development.

 

"In the flight from Nanjing to Shanghai, I noticed so many plants and modern construction projects on the ground. They are a major indication of China's development and exciting changes that need to be learned about and valued," said Soong.

 

"All of us hope the two sides of the Taiwan Straits will become a factory and market of the world, not a battlefield," said Soong. "This is an important issue that needs to be tackled seriously by compatriots on both sides."

 

Also in Shanghai dialect, Soong's wife Viola Chen said "people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one family now and forever."

 

During his stay in the city, Soong is expected to meet with senior officials from the Shanghai municipal committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Wang Daohan, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. He will also meet with Taiwan businesspeople.?

 

Before leaving Nanjing, Soong said in a send-off banquet on Saturday given by Li Yuanchao, Jiangsu provincial CPC committee secretary, that "the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are descendants of the 'dragon.' They should keep in mind their common ancestors and work together for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

 

Also after Soong’s arrival, his delegation met with Chen Liangyu, secretary of Shanghai’s municipal CPC committee.

 

 

During their meeting, Chen said Soong's tour was a major event that would help dialogue and exchange between the CPC and PFP. He said it would contribute to the improvement and development of cross-Straits relations, peace and stability and further exchange and cooperation.

 

Many Taiwan compatriots have invested, run businesses, studied or bought houses in Shanghai. The city has become a hotspot for cooperation and exchanges between Taiwanese and mainlanders, he said.

 

"Shanghai's achievements incorporate Taiwan compatriots' wisdom and hard work," he said.

 

Soong and his delegation arrived at Xi'an on the afternoon of May 5 to begin their mainland trip at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee and its general secretary, Hu Jintao. After Xi'an and Nanjing, they are scheduled to visit Changsha and Beijing before returning to Taiwan on May 13.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)