Honorary Chairman of Kuomintang (KMT) Lien Chan on Saturday called on the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong to join hands in building a new perspective for the Chinese nation by seeking common ground while reserving differences.

While delivering a speech at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Lien said he was greatly encouraged by great changes in the mainland and the enormous vigor that Hong Kong held when he returned to the two places after decades of years.

"The Chinese nation is confronted with unprecedented opportunities of development. Well-being and prosperity that the nation has long aspired after will never be a faraway dream," Lien said.

Chinese intellectuals should take a serious consideration about what is the biggest "enemy" to the realization of the new perspective, Lien said, adding that the top priority is to put aside minor differences so as to seek common ground.

He called for, on the one hand, respect of the history, and on the other hand, saying good-bye to the history. "If we continue to live in the past and explain the past and present with a pessimistic conception of history, populism will spread and hinder the development of the entire nation and the society," Lien said.

He pointed out the most practical way is to face squarely to the reality of closely knitted economic relations among the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and make a better complement as Hong Kong enjoys a sound free-economic system, Taiwan is rich in human and financial resources and the mainland has a super-large market and development potential.

Though many people thought his visit to the mainland has created a new opportunity to the peace across the straits, Lien said it could be ruined if the situation was misjudged.

He hoped all the Chinese intellectuals could shoulder the responsibility endowed by the time and build a broad road to the future.

"Let's do it better!" Lien concluded his speech with thunderous applause from the audience.

Before the speech, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Tung Chee-hwa held a banquet for Lien and his retinue.

Lien arrived in Hong Kong from Taipei on Dec. 7 and will leave for Taipei on Dec. 11.

Source: Xinhua