BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Top leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan Thursday expressed confidence that PFP Chairman James CY Soong's landmark mainland visit will help build a bridge across the Taiwan Straits.

    During their 25-minute historic meeting in the Great Hall of the People, CPC Central Committee General Secretary Hu Jintao told Soong he hoped the PFP delegation's mainland tour could build "a bridge of mutual trust between the two parties" and "a bridge of communication among the people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits."

    The PFP delegation's mainland trip and the dialogue between theCPC and PFP demonstrate the readiness of the two parties to push forward peace across the Taiwan Straits and work for the benefits of the people across the Straits, Hu said.

    "The historic handshake and meeting between us today will be inked in history," said Hu, adding that it is the common aspirations of the people across the Taiwan Straits to maintain peace and stability and promote development across the Straits.

    "The Chinese nation is now facing a hard-won historic opportunity for development," said Hu, calling on both parties to follow the historic trend and strive to promote development and prosperity on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

    It is the requirement of both the times and the Chinese people that leaders of political parties across the Straits should work hard for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, he said.

    The people on both sides of the Straits are closely tied by the 5,000-year-old Chinese history and culture, and they should take national rejuvenation as their own responsibility, he added.

    Hu appreciated the PFP's adherence to the one-China principle and the "1992 Consensus," which he said constituted the political basis for cross-Straits dialogue and consultation, and for peaceful and stable development of cross-Straits relations.

    The mainland is ready to talk with anyone and any political party in Taiwan who accepts the one-China principle and the "1992 consensus," Hu promised.

    "No matter what he has said or done in the past, we are ready to talk with them on developing cross-Straits relations and promoting national reunification," said Hu.

    Describing the current cross-Straits relations as being in a "critical" stage, Hu said the two parties should demonstrate the prospects of peaceful and stable cross-Straits relations to people at both sides of the Straits, while showing to the world that Chinese across the Taiwan Straits are capable of and wise enough to handle their internal conflicts and iron out their discrepancies by their own efforts.

    Soong shared the same view as Hu on their historic meeting. He said, "Not only all the Chinese people around the world, but all countries in the world show great concern over the results of our meeting today."

    "They want to know whether we could pool the wisdom and ability of Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straits to resolve our pastmisunderstanding and problems by the Chinese people themselves," said Soong, who lead a party delegation to embark on a "bridge-building journey" to the Chinese mainland starting on May 5.

    Soong also emphasized the fundamental stance upheld by the PFP and said "Taiwan independence" has never been an option for his party as it will only bring war and disasters to the region.

    The PFP also sticks to the "1992 Consensus" and the one-China principle and advocates peace.

    "As long as there is an environment of peace, I believe the Chinese people across the Straits will score more outstanding achievements, and this is what we're longing for," he said.

    Citing opinion polls in Taiwan, Soong said it was the top expectation of most people in Taiwan that the two sides could begin political consultations in line with the principle of equality.

    He thanked Hu for inviting him and Chairman Lien Chan of the Kuomintang party, the biggest opposition party in Taiwan, to visit the mainland, which he said in the past month had resulted in "earth-shaking" changes in cross-Straits relations and successfully erased the past civil-war enmity across the Taiwan Straits.

    Quoting the Book of Changes, an ancient Chinese classics, Soong said changes should be made to dissolve past conflicts while keeping the cross-Straits linkage intact.

    Currently, both sides of the Straits face the "major issue" of maintaining peace, promoting reconciliation and inspiring all the Chinese people to march on the path of development, Soong said.

    If the two parties and people on both sides of the Straits work hard together for this goal, they will "reach the outlet of the tunnel no matter how long it is" and "embrace the morning sun rays no matter how long the inky night is," said Soong. Enditem