Yok Mu-ming, chairman of the New Party in Taiwan, arrived in Guangzhou at Wednesday afternoon to begin an eight-day mainland visit, known as the "journey of Chinese nation", to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory over the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Yok said the New Party has followed the footsteps of Chinese Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan and People First Party leader James Soong to visit the mainland to commemorate the 60th anniversary of China's victory over the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

"Memories of the past occur to us at this historic moment," he said upon arrival at the Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou. "These memories remind us that we must be united."

Yok said the New Party has named the mainland tour a "journey of the Chinese nation", meaning they stand for the Chinese nation and will pursue the prosperity of the Chinese nation.

The 30-member delegation have chosen Guangzhou as the first step of their mainland tour.

"We'll pay tribute to the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs' Tombs and look back on the righteousness and heroism of that generation of Chinese youth," said Yok. "We hope the young people of today will not forget the country's plight of the past and its hopes of the future."

The Huanghuagang Tombs was an important place of historic interest in Guangzhou, where 72 people killed in an abortive uprising to overthrow the imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) were honored.

The mainland tour, from July 6 to 13, will also take Yok and his delegation to Nanjing, Dalian and Beijing.

In Nanjing, the group will pay tribute to the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of China's democratic revolution, and go to offer condolences at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre, an atrocity conducted by Japanese invading troops during World War II.

In Beijing, the delegation will visit the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, take part in activities in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory over the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and hold discussions with mainland scholars in a symposium.

Prior to the delegation's departure from the Taipei airport Wednesday morning, Yok told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the New Party is making the mainland trip to play its role in Taiwan's Pan-Blue Alliance to improve relations across the Taiwan Straits.

He said it is the opportune time for the New Party delegation to tour the mainland to commemorate the Lugou Bridge (also known as the Macro Polo Bridge) Incident in north China on July 7, 1937, which marked the launching of China's war of resistence against the Japanese aggressors.

"It's also a historic moment to remind Chinese descendents both at home and overseas to draw a lesson from history and shoulder the historic mission of maintaining national unity and seeking peaceful reunification of the motherland," Yok told Xinhua.

Yok, 65, was elected chairman of the New Party in June 2003.

Backgrounder: New Party of Taiwan

The New Party is one of main political parties in Taiwan. In August 1993, members on the "new Kuomintang united front" under Kuomintang, who were critical of Lee Teng-hui,founded a political party in Taiwan now known as the "New Party" after quitting the Kuomintang.

The New Party of Taiwan has "to let the people live a better life" as its tenet, and advocates "political reform, democracy within the party", and opposes "money politics and independence of Taiwan".

The New Party has won support of the traditional forces of Kuomintang and its social foundation since its founding. Its image of being honest and clean in fighting against "black money" has won recognition from society.

As core members of the New Party such as Wang Chien-hsien and Yok Mu-ming were all political stars with fine images, the New Party expanded rapidly in the early years of its establishment. It attained 21 legislative seats in the 1995 elections to become the third biggest party in Taiwan next to Kuomintang and Democratic Progressive Party.

However, plagued by in-fighting, the New Party has been suffering from a severe development crisis, and its political position and influence in Taiwan have kept declining.

Its incumbent Chairman is 65-year-old Yok Mu-ming, who is a medical science professional by training. The New Party now has four seats in the "Legislative Yuan" of Taiwan.

Since its inauguration, the New Party has always adhered to the principle of One China, recognized the "92 consensus" reached by both sides of Taiwan Straits in 1992 on a basis of accepting the "one-China" principle, opposed the independence of Taiwan, and advocated expanding relations across the Taiwan Straits. It has been firm with fighting against the independence of Taiwan inside the island.

An earlier delegation of the New Party visited the Chinese mainland in 2001, and reached a "six-point agreement", such as One China principle and peaceful reunification, with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, ushering in a new period of dialogues and exchanges among political parties across the Taiwan Straits.

Source: Xinhua