The "Chinese Culture" trip to the mainland by Li Ao, a prominent writer living in Taiwan, came to a climax when he gave a speech at Tsinghua University on Friday in Beijing, following his speech on Wednesday at Peking University.

In the speech, he claimed that China had never been as prosperous as it is today.

He said that the Communist Party of China is "the only party" that can take China on to global success.

In a similar vein, Li, in his speech at Peking University, said that young students should not only care about themselves and he encouraged them to build the confidence to shoulder responsibility for their motherland.

Li, born in 1935 in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, spent most of his first 14 years in Beijing before leaving for Taiwan in 1949. Aside from his speeches in Beijing, he visited the Palace Museum, his primary school teacher and had a reunion with his primary school classmates.

As a television talk show host with the Hong Kong Phoenix Cable TV Network, Li, an ardent supporter of China's reunification and an earnest scholar, has cultivated a large following on the mainland.

As a result, his two speeches, broadcast live over Phoenix TV, attracted a lot of public attention. Students from colleges and universities outside of Beijing came to the capital especially to follow Li's tour. They wore white shirts embroidered with Chinese characters welcoming Li home.

Meanwhile, students at the two leading universities gave mixed comments on Li's speech.

"As far as I know, most of the students on campus or on the Net praised Li Ao's speech," said Li Rui, a female student from Peking University. "Li's speech gave me a new perspective."

However, Zhang Yongqi, a doctorate candidate at Peking University, said: "I regard him more like a celebrity than a scholar. Li is good at showing off in public and commands good public speaking skills."

(China Daily 09/24/2005 page2)