Soong: Descendants of Cathay should never forget roots
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-05-08 19:51

Back on his native soil after a lapse of 56 years, visiting People First Party (PFP) Chairman James CY Soong said Sunday "descendants of Cathay must never forget their roots" and people along the Taiwan Straits should join hands to bring more glory to the Chinese nation.

PFP Chairman James Soong from Taiwan speaks at the airport of Changsha, Central China's Hunan Provinc, May 8, 2005. [newsphoto]

"I'm a native from Hunan, a proud Hunanese fond of eating hot pepper, a dignified Chinese and also a Taiwanese that loves Taiwan, " Soong said upon his arrival at Huanghua Airport in Changsha, capital of central-south China's Hunan Province, Sunday afternoon.

On numerous other occasions in the delegation's mainland visit, Soong also explicitly enunciated his stance against "Taiwan independence", saying that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are descendants of "Yandi and Huangdi emperors", the " dragon" and the "Cathay", and should accomplish the reunification of their country.

Soong will return to his home Juyu Village in Xiangtan City Monday morning to perform ancestor worshipping ceremony. In the afternoon, he will proceed to visit his primary school and meet his cousin in Xiangtan before returning to Changsha.

In his brief remarks at the airport, Soong said he personally had poignant feelings at the moment.

"I escorted the coffin of my grandmother to Hunan 56 years ago, as a little boy. And I haven't returned to see my kinfolk since, yet I have never stopped missing you," said Soong, in his Hunan dialect.

My visit to Hunan, he said, is not merely a personal matter, but an important occasion to express the hope of Taiwan kinsfolk for peace across the Straits and that "descendants of Cathay should never forget their roots."

"I hope the people on both sides of the Strait will join hands, link each other heart to heart and work together to bring more glory to the Chinese nation in the 21st century," said Soong.

Changsha is the forth leg of Soong's nine-day mainland trip, which has also brought him to Xi'an, Nanjing and Shanghai. Soong and his delegation are due to visit Beijing before his return to Taiwan on May 13.

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