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)
