(Adnkronos) – Cheng Li-wun, the leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), landed at Shanghai airport to begin a mission she herself called ”historic for peace” between Taipei and Beijing. This was reported by the Xinhua news agency, emphasizing that it is the first time in ten years that a KMT leader has visited China. The last time was in November 2016, when the then party leader, Hung Hsiu-chu, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Cheng’s mission will last until April 12 and is at Xi’s invitation. According to Taiwanese media, Cheng will be in Beijing on Thursday and is expected to meet Xi there, although Beijing has not yet confirmed.
The 56-year-old Taiwanese opposition leader had requested to meet Xi before traveling to the United States, drawing criticism both from within and outside her party, which accuses her of being too pro-China. The Kuomintang hopes for closer relations and greater exchanges with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory. Cheng, a former talk show host and parliamentarian, won the KMT chairmanship election last year, surprising observers and many members of her party, who considered her an outsider candidate.
“If you truly love Taiwan, you will seize even the slightest opportunity, every possible chance, to prevent Taiwan from being devastated by war,” Cheng stated before departing for China. “Therefore, I prefer to believe that all Taiwanese hope this trip will be successful, because we can transform the most dangerous place in the world into the safest place in the world,” she added. In announcing her trip in recent weeks, the KMT had emphasized that Cheng “hopes for joint efforts from both sides to promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, foster exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait, for greater well-being for people on both sides.”
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 hoped to “succeed in building such a bridge.”
