Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party, traveled to Nanjing on Wednesday in a visit loaded with historical symbolism. A figure associated with closer ties to Beijing, Cheng is the first KMT party leader to visit mainland China in a decade. Her trip comes amid heightened tensions with Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose government Beijing refuses to recognize.
Cheng said she accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping issued in March and expressed hope of meeting him, although no meeting has been confirmed. Beijing treats the self-ruled island as a breakaway province destined for “reunification” and opposes steps toward formal independence.
The choice of Nanjing resonated historically: it was the capital of the KMT-led Republic of China before the government retreated to Taiwan after the 1949 civil war. During the visit Cheng paid respects at the mausoleum of KMT founder Sun Yat-sen, a figure respected on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. She said the KMT had upheld Sun’s founding ideals by contributing to Taiwan’s democratic development, while also acknowledging the party’s 38-year period of martial law known as the “white terror” that ended in 1987. Cheng also complimented mainland China’s unexpected pace of development.
Official cross-strait contacts at senior levels were severed after the 2016 election of DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen, who rejected Beijing’s claims over the island. Relations have since deteriorated: President Xi has not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under mainland control, and China regularly stages large-scale military drills around the island, at times simulating blockade scenarios. Beijing has also declined to engage with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, whom it calls a “separatist.”
In remarks carried by Taiwanese media, Cheng sought to downplay the likelihood of armed conflict, saying the two sides are “not doomed to war” and that she wanted to “plant the seeds of peace” to foster reconciliation, unity and regional prosperity.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen responded by accusing Beijing of employing military intimidation and harassment to create a climate of danger and instability across the Strait, to apply psychological pressure, deepen social divisions in Taiwan, boost pro-China positions and complicate U.S. arms procurements.
The DPP criticized the trip. Party spokesperson Wu Cheng said that if the KMT truly sought stability it should stop obstructing a proposed $40 billion defense spending supplement in parliament, adding that peace cannot be granted by dictators and must be defended by Taiwan’s own strength. Lai’s administration said Cheng should call on Beijing officials, including Xi if they meet, to cease military aggression and respect the Taiwanese people’s right to choose their future.
Edited by: Karl Sexton