(Adnkronos) – Cheng Li-wun, the leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), will visit China from April 7 to 12 after “happily” accepting the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This was reported by her party and the Xinhua news agency. Cheng had asked to meet Xi before traveling to the United States, drawing criticism both from within and outside her party, which accuse her of being too pro-Chinese. The Kuomintang hopes for closer relations and greater exchanges with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
Cheng “hopes for joint efforts from both sides to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, foster exchanges and cooperation between the two sides, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait, for greater well-being for people on both sides,” reads the KMT statement.
Chinese state media said the Taiwan delegation will visit the eastern province of Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Beijing, but did not specify whether Cheng will meet Xi. Cheng stated that she wants to demonstrate that “the two sides of the strait are not destined for war.” It will be the first visit to China by an incumbent KMT chairman since November 2016, when the then-party leader, Hung Hsiu-chu, met Xi in Beijing.
Within the Kuomintang, there are fears that a meeting between Cheng and Xi could have a negative effect on the vote to be held in Taiwan by the end of the year. Cheng has been accused by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of accommodating Beijing’s interests by blocking government defense spending plans. Cheng, however, stated that talks with Xi would have “important symbolic meaning” and could form the “basis” for peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait. “I don’t believe that a single meeting can solve all the problems that have accumulated over almost a century,” Cheng said, adding that she hopes to “be able to build such a bridge.”
