"Taiwan independence" a dead alley: Soong

Chairman James CY Soong of the People First Party in Taiwan gives a speech to students and teachers of the prestigious Qinghua University in Beijing, capital of China, May 11, 2005.

Visiting Chairman of People First Party James CY Soong reiterated his persistent stance Wednesday that his party is resolutely opposed to forces for "Taiwan independence," which is a dead alley for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

There is nobody in the world who can hold back the Chinese people from resolving their own problems "peacefully."

During a speech at the Beijing-based Qinghua University, Soong said the historical and realistic factors were so complicated and difficult to unravel that they constituted a challenge to the wisdom of all Chinese for "handling our own problems by ourselves."

"History should be taken as a mirror to prevent previous wrongdoing from happening again," said the PFP chairman.

He warned the mentality of taking history as a "rope" would exert a negative impact on taking an rational mindset in resolving problems.

Soong said historic experience shows that the real reconciliation is the "start of a nation's rejuvenation" rather than the result of "compromise of principle."

Taiwan consciousness not "Taiwan independence"

Soong called on people on the mainland not to take the "Taiwan consciousness" upheld by the Taiwan people the same as "Taiwan independence."

The "Taiwan consciousness" formed in history is a mentality of recognizing the people and land in Taiwan whereas the effort for "Taiwan independence" is only an attempt to separate Taiwan from China, Soong said in a speech in the Beijing-based Qinghua University.

The fact that the "Taiwan consciousness" was once manipulated by "Taiwan independence" forces only proves that such efforts to political control garbled the real aspirations of the Taiwan people.

Soong slashed the efforts of a small handful of secessionists to take themselves as Japanese rather than Taiwanese as "casting aside both roots and essence."