The harmonious living and common prosperity across the Taiwan Straits require deepening mutual understanding of the people on both sides, visiting chairman James CY Soong of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan said Wednesday morning in a speech at the Qinghua University.

Both sides can start from removing misunderstanding to reaching understanding, from understanding to dissolving differences, and eventually to the long-standing pacification, he said.

In such a process, both sides can "score growth" and "regain national dignity," he said.

Citing an ancient Chinese story to dredge rather than fend off surging flood, Soong said that the easing of the cross-Straits tension requires the people on both sides to "make a rational decision."

To make more progress, he encouraged people on both sides to honestly face history while reserving more patience. "Don't eat too fast, otherwise you may bite the bowl," he said jokingly.

Soong said that the cross-Straits relations have achieved world-shaking changes over the past month. "Only by putting people 's interests in prior position can we found a solution to the cross-Straits prosperity," he said.