BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhuanet) -- A 30-member delegation of the New Party in Taiwan, headed by Chairman Yok Mu-ming, arrived on China's mainland Wednesday afternoon for an 8-day "journey of the Chinese nation" that aims to improve cross-Strait relations.

    The visit closely follows mainland visits made by two other major parties in Taiwan, the Chinese Kuomintang and People First Party, in April and May.

Yok Mu-ming, chairman of the New Party in Taiwan, arrived in Guangzhou at 14:40 Wednesday to begin an eight-day mainland visit. (Photo: Xinhua)

    Speaking after arriving at the airport in Guangzhou, Yok said the New Party has chosen a historic time that evokes lots of memories, the 60th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, to make the trip because "these memories remind us that we must be united".

    The delegation is scheduled to visit places bearing witness to the heroic struggle of the Chinese people for national independence and prosperity and resistance against Japanese aggression and condole Chinese people who died from Japanese aggression in Guangzhou, Nanjing, Dalian and Beijing.

    These places include the Huanghuagang 72 Martyrs' Tombs in Guangzhou, the Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of China's democratic revolution, and the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, a war-time prison in Dalian, and the Lugou Bridge (also known as the Macro Polo Bridge) and the Memorial Hall of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing.

    In Beijing, the delegation is also expected to hold discussions with mainland scholars at a symposium.

    Yok said the New Party has named the mainland tour a "journey of the Chinese nation" to show that they identify themselves as members of the Chinese nation and seek to advance the prosperity of the Chinese nation and status of the Chinese people.

Guangdong provincial leader Zhang Dejiang meets with Yok Mu-ming. (Xinhua)

    During a meeting with Guangdong provincial leader Zhang Dejiang Wednesday afternoon, Yok said "We want to make it clear to all Chinese in the world: only when we are united, can we realise peace across the Straits and open up a new stage in the 21st century when we Chinese people feel proud and elated".

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

    He said it is the right time for the New Party delegation to tour the mainland to commemorate the Lugou Bridge Incident in Beijing on July 7, 1937, which marked the beginning of China's war of resistance against the Japanese aggressors.

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

    On an earlier occasion, he also said he would tell the world that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China and "the vicious goal of a minority of politicians are doomed to fail". Enditem