BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official has called on alumni of the Huangpu Military Academy to give full play to their distinctive strengths and contribute to the country's reunification and national rejuvenation.

You Quan, a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a symposium marking the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Alumni Association of the Huangpu Military Academy Thursday.

Extending congratulations and greetings to Huangpu alumni and their relatives at home and abroad, he thanked the association's contribution to the development of cross-Strait relations, containing "Taiwan Independence" and promoting national reunification.

The Huangpu (Whampoa) Military Academy opened in south China's Guangzhou in 1924. The first lessons were delivered on June 16 of that year by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Kuomintang Party, and a revered revolutionary leader who played a pivotal role in overthrowing imperial rule in China.