"We will continue to push forward the development of cross-Strait relations and firmly oppose any attempt of 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities and external interference to safeguard the national unity," Zhou Qi, a deputy from the Taiwan delegation of the National People's Congress (NPC), said on Monday.

Zhou, president of Liaoning Provincial Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, made the remarks at the Deputies' Corridor held before the second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the NPC.

According to incomplete statistics, over 650,000 Taiwan compatriots sacrificed their lives in the struggle against Japan's colonial rule and nearly 50,000 young Taiwan compatriots returned to the Chinese mainland and joined the resistance war, Zhou said.

Behind these numbers are the heroic and patriotic lives of individuals, who have proved with their own efforts that the compatriots across the Strait are a community of shared destiny with common interests and concerns, Zhou said. Any attempt to deny history would be an insult to the revolutionary martyrs, he stressed.

Facing the future, we will continue to learn from the great spirit forged during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhou added.

He also called on people across the Strait to work together, share development opportunities and jointly create a beautiful future of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.