The chairman of the People First Party of Taiwan yesterday urged all Chinese to use their wisdom to break the current stalemate in cross-strait relations and join hands to foster interdependence and common prosperity.

PFP Chairman James Soong made his remarks as he landed in the afternoon at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the fifth stop of his mainland visit that began last Thursday.

People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should join efforts "to initiate and advance the process of dealing with Chinese issues by the Chinese people," he said.

"History should be taken as a mirror to prevent past wrongdoing from happening again," said Soong.

He thanked the Communist Party of China's Central Committee and its General Secretary Hu Jintao for inviting him to the mainland and said he considered the invitation a chance to "demolish the political taboo" that has been clouding cross-strait ties for a long time.

Defining the PFP as a Taiwan-born party that loves Taiwan and also possesses a strong emotional attachment to the Chinese nation, Soong urged all Chinese people to endeavor to resolve the Taiwan issue peacefully.

Beijing is the last leg of Soong's mainland tour, which is scheduled to conclude on Friday following a meeting with Hu tomorrow.

Before leaving Changsha in Hunan Province early yesterday, Soong said that the complete rejuvenation of China from poverty some 100 years ago "is the obligation of every common man" and requires "staunch actions."

"Looking back to history, those who followed the will of the people prospered while those who resisted the will of the people perished," he said. "If everyone had the country in mind some 100 years ago, China would have avoided poverty and weakness.