XI'AN, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- James CY
Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, said here Thursday
that he leads the PFP delegation to the mainland to seek the same root of
Chinese and build a bridge over the Taiwan Straits.
Upon arrival in Xi'an, capital of
northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Soong said, "The ancestors of all the people
in Taiwan came from the land I'm now setting foot on."
He said both the people in Taiwan
and the mainland "are in the same family and should of course create our common
future."
"The PFP delegation is here to
build a bridge of mutual trust, mutual understanding and cooperation between
Taiwan and the mainland," he said.
Soong and his delegation left
Taipei at about 9:20 a.m. Thursday to embark on a nine-day visit to the
mainland.
Xi'an
is the first leg of Soong's trip. His itinerary also covers Nanjing, Shanghai,
Changsha, and Beijing.