The eight-day mainland visit by Taiwan's New Party delegation to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, during which the 30-member group paid homage to the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs' Cemetery in Guangzhou, visited the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in Nanjing, and offered condolences to victims of the Nanjing Massacre at the Memorial Hall of Compatriots Murdered in Nanjing, was warmly welcomed by ordinary mainland people, adding a perfect footnote to the party's "journey of the Chinese nation".

Following the mainland visits by Lien Chan, chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang Party and James Soong, chairman of the People First Party, the New Party, which also belongs to the "blue camp" in Taiwan political circles, succeeded in embarking on a trip to the mainland this summer. It maintained the trend of positive contacts, helped Taiwan people continue their concern over cross-Straits topics, thus playing the role in warming up exchanges between the two sides.

New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming, head of the delegation, indicated that his party was to play the part as a team of the entire blue camp devoted to "improving cross-Straits relations"; its aim is to pursue a spiritual-faceted "consensus with the mainland" so as to "form the function of complementing with the consensus on administrative affairs reached during Lien-Soong mainland visits". Judged from its itinerary in the past few days, the party is indeed performing its preset mission for its trip.

Such a "spiritual facet" is pointed first to history. The Revolution of 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression��all these are wealth shared by compatriots on both sides of the Straits. They are a concentrated expression of the calamity-ridden history of the Chinese nation, as well as a symbol of all Chinese people's spirit of solidarity, militancy and indomitableness; they also present a clear picture showing compatriots on both sides sharing weal and woe and common fate.

In the days when people across the Straits are commemorating in all forms the July 7, 1937 Lugouqiao (Marco Polo Bridge) Incident and the victory of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the New Party, as representative of Taiwan compatriots, carried out a series of homage-paying activities of special significance in the mainland.

It opened to Taiwan people a window showing the huge sacrifice the Chinese nation made to achieve the first complete victory in the century-long struggle against foreign enemies and to recover Taiwan. It also provided an opportunity for the general public in the mainland to know and bear in mind the contributions Taiwan compatriots made during the war against Japan. Only on this basis can Chinese people across the Straits be able to construct a common view on the history of war against Japan.

More importantly, such a "spiritual-faceted'' consensus also bears realistic significance. The history of war against Japanese aggression tells us that lagging behind will get beatings and unity breeds strength. Just as chairman Yok Mu-ming put it, "a divided country will only cause others to look down upon us, and humiliate, bully and harm us" and only when the two sides of the Straits are united can the Chinese nation be free from being browbeaten. Such a historical cognition, no doubt, provides a strong spiritual pillar for the mutual-beneficial cooperation and long-term stability across the Straits as well as for the peaceful rise and prosperity and development of the Chinese nation.

From this point of view, the New Party's mainland trip continues and supplements Lian-Soong mainland visits. The practice of cross-Strait relation development over the past two decades tells us that as long as we hold firm to our national stance, acknowledging that compatriots on both sides are Chinese, then all artificial gulfs can be surmounted and all political differences can be easily resolved. In that case, the cross-Straits relations will see rosy prospects, otherwise, stalemate, tension or even confrontation will certainly arise.

The cross-Straits relations are currently in a critical period. The New Party, though small in size, has lofty aspirations. Its efforts to promote sound interactions of the two sides, as well as its call for "uniting all Chinese to greet national rise", will certainly leave a deep mark in history.

This article by Sun Shengliang is carried on the first page of the People's Daily, Overseas Edition, July 9, and is translated by People's Daily Online