Hu
Jintao, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China
(CPC)'s Central Committee, met with Taiwan's visiting People First
Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong on Thursday afternoon in the Great
Hall of the People in Beijing.
Hu said his historic handshake and meeting with Soong would be
always remembered.
The PFP
delegation's trip to the mainland and its dialogue with the CPC
showed the willingness of both parties to push for peace and work
for the benefit of the people across the Straits, said Hu.
He said he hoped the delegation's tour could build "a bridge of
mutual trust between the two parties" and "a bridge of
communication between people on both sides of the Taiwan
Straits".
The mainland is prepared to talk with anyone and any political
party in Taiwan who accepts the one-China principle and the "1992
Consensus," he said, and "No matter what they have said or done in
the past, we would be ready to talk with them on developing
cross-Straits relations and promoting national reunification."
Hu said the Chinese nation is now facing a rare historic
opportunity to develop itself and called for both parties to follow
the trend to strive for development and prosperity.
"The times and the Chinese people require us political party
leaders across the Taiwan Straits to work hard in this regard,"
said Hu, emphasizing that people on both sides are closely tied by
5,000 years of historical and cultural tradition.
"All Chinese people should take the rejuvenation of the nation
as their own task," said Hu.
Soong said that "Taiwan independence" has never been an option
for the PFP as it would only bring war and disaster.
He said this is also one of the three-point basic stands that
the PFP has always adhered to, along with sticking to the "1992
Consensus" and the one-China principle as well as advocating
peace.
"As long as there is an environment of peace, I believe the
Chinese people will score more outstanding achievements," he
said.
"Not only all the Chinese people around the world, but all
countries in the world show great concern over the results of our
meeting today," Soong said.
"They want to know whether we can pool our wisdom and ability to
resolve our past misunderstandings and problems by the Chinese
people themselves," Soong said. "We are full of expectations and
hope that we can."
He said that people on both sides should join hands to promote
peace across the Straits.
(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2005)
