Visiting Chairman of the People First Party (PFP) James Soong said in Nanjing Saturday morning that people from both Taiwan and the mainland hope to "unite again," which is "a historical trend." 

After paying his homage at the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), founder of the Kuomintang (KMT), Soong said that people from both sides of the Taiwan Straits should put on steam to achieve reunification of the nation.

People from Taiwan and the mainland should also endeavor for their common prosperity, said Soong.

Soong and his PFP delegation were warmly welcomed at Sun's mausoleum.

Right after homage paying to Sun's mausoleum, Soong met with Li Yuanchao, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Jiangsu Provincial Committee.

Soong said progress in Nanjing, capital of the economically developed Jiangsu Province, is "stunning."

Nanjing is Soong's second leg of his nine-day mainland trip. He chose Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, as his first stop and paid respects at the mausoleum of Huangdi, regarded as the common ancestor of all the Chinese people worldwide.

Soong and his delegation will leave Nanjing Saturday afternoon for Shanghai, the booming business hub in the mainland.

In Shanghai, Soong is scheduled to visit Wang Daohan, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits -- a major nongovernmental conduit for cross-Straits contacts, and meet with head of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and representatives for Taiwan business community in Shanghai.

The PFP delegation is here at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee and its General Secretary Hu Jintao. One of the highlights of Soong's mainland trip will be his meeting with Hu.

In a similar endeavor, the KMT delegation, led by Chairman Lien Chan, just wrapped up their eight-day mainland visit Tuesday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2005)