Visiting Chairman James CY Soong of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan urged all Chinese to use their wisdom to break the current stalemate in cross-Straits relations and join hands to create cross-Straits interdependence and common prosperity Tuesday afternoon.

Soong, heading a PFP delegation to tour the mainland starting on May 5, made the above remarks at the aprons of the Beijing Capital International Airport.

"History should be taken as a mirror to prevent the past wrongdoing from happening again," said Soong, cautioning against the entanglement with historical conflicts and the mentality of taking history as a "rope".

The PFP chairman also thanked the Communist Party of China (CPC)Central Committee and its General Secretary Hu Jintao for inviting him to visit the mainland and considered the invitation as a move to "demolish the political taboo" that has been clouding the cross-Straits ties for a long time.

Defining the PFP as a Taiwan-born party that loves Taiwan and also possesses strong emotions clinging to the Chinese nation, Soong urged all the Chinese people to endeavor to solve the Taiwan issue "peacefully".

"We cherished very much this opportunity of conducting dialogue with the CPC," said Soong, calling the mainland tour a move to help create a complementary, mutually beneficiary and interdependent cross-Straits relations.

Beijing is the last leg on Soong's nine-day mainland tour, which is scheduled to conclude on Friday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2005)