Taiwan’s opposition leader Cheng Li-wun is on a rare visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, which she says is aimed at promoting cross-strait “peace.”
“The purpose of this visit to mainland China is precisely to show the world that it is not just Taiwan that unilaterally hopes for peace,” said Cheng, chairperson of the Kuomintang (KMT), the island’s largest opposition party.
“I believe that through this journey for peace, everyone is even more eager to see the sincerity and determination of the CPC Central Committee to use peaceful dialogue and exchange to resolve all possible differences between the two sides,” she added, referring to the Communist Party of China.
“To preserve peace is to preserve Taiwan,” Cheng told a news conference at KMT headquarters in Taipei when asked about her priorities for the trip. “Goodwill must be built up and mutual trust needs to be expanded, step by step, by both sides.”
Cheng is visiting China for six days and is expected to travel to Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing, where she hopes to meet Xi. Beijing has not commented on a possible meeting.
This is the first time a Taiwanese opposition leader has visited China in a decade. The KMT advocates closer relations with China, which regards Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under control. Critics have accused Cheng of being too supportive of China; when she became KMT chair in October, she received a congratulatory message from Xi.
Her trip comes ahead of a planned meeting in Beijing between Xi and US President Donald Trump in May. It also coincides with an opposition-controlled parliament in Taiwan stalling attempts by the government to pass a $40 billion special defense budget. The US has been urging Taiwanese opposition lawmakers to back proposals for defense purchases, including US weapons, to deter a potential Chinese attack.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher