Yok Mu-ming, chairman of the New Party in Taiwan, arrived
in Guangzhou at 14:40 Wednesday to begin an eight-day mainland visit. (Photo:
Xinhua)
A 30-member delegation of the New Party in Taiwan, headed by Chairman Yok
Mu-ming, arrived on China's mainland Wednesday afternoon for an 8-day "journey
of the Chinese nation" that aims to improve cross-Strait relations.
The visit closely follows mainland visits made by two other major parties in
Taiwan, the Chinese Kuomintang and People First Party, in April and May.
Speaking after arriving at the airport in Guangzhou, Yok said the New Party
has chosen a historic time that evokes lots of memories, the 60th anniversary of
China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, to make
the trip because "these memories remind us that we must be united".
The delegation is scheduled to visit places bearing witness to the heroic
struggle of the Chinese people for national independence and prosperity and
resistance against Japanese aggression and condole Chinese people who died from
Japanese aggression in Guangzhou, Nanjing, Dalian and Beijing.
These places include the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs' Tombs in Guangzhou, the
Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of China's democratic revolution, and
the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, a war-time
prison in Dalian, and the Lugou Bridge (also known as the Macro Polo Bridge) and
the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in
Beijing.
In Beijing, the delegation is also expected to hold discussions with mainland
scholars at a symposium.
Yok said the New Party has named the mainland tour a "journey of the Chinese
nation" to show that they identify themselves as members of the Chinese nation
and seek to advance the prosperity of the Chinese nation and status of the
Chinese people.
During a meeting with Guangdong provincial leader Zhang Dejiang Wednesday
afternoon, Yok said "We want to make it clear to all Chinese in the world: only
when we are united, can we realise peace across the Straits and open up a new
stage in the 21st century when we Chinese people feel proud and elated".
Prior to the delegation's departure from the Taipei airport Wednesday
morning, Yok told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the New Party's trip is
to play its role as part of Taiwan's Pan-Blue Alliance to improve relations
across the Taiwan Straits.
He said it is the right time for the New Party delegation to tour the
mainland to commemorate the Lugou Bridge Incident in Beijing on July 7, 1937,
which marked the beginning of China's war of resistance against the Japanese
aggressors.
"It's also a historic moment to remind Chinese descendants both at home and
overseas to draw a lesson and shoulder the historic mission of maintaining
national unity and seeking peaceful reunification of the motherland," Yok told
Xinhua.
On an earlier occasion, he also said he would tell the world that the
mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China and "the vicious goal of a minority
of politicians are doomed to fail".