Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) opposition party, was in China’s eastern city of Nanjing on Wednesday on a visit filled with historical symbolism.
Cheng, seen as a supporter of closer ties with Beijing, is the first KMT leader to visit China in a decade amid tensions over Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose leadership is not recognized by Beijing.
Cheng was invited to China by President Xi Jinping in March. Accepting the invitation, Cheng said he looked forward to meeting Xi, although the meeting has not been officially announced.
Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that will one day be “reunified” with the mainland, and balks at any political direction toward “independence.”
The weight of history hangs over the journey
The roots of the division go back to the Chinese Civil War. Nanjing was the capital of the KMT-led Republic of China government, which established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) before it fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949. The official name of Taiwan remains the Republic of China (ROC).
On Wednesday, Cheng visited the mausoleum in Nanjing of KMT founder Sun Yat-sen, who is revered in both Taiwan and the mainland.
Sun is seen as a revolutionary figure in China, and is credited with overthrowing the last imperial dynasty in 1912 and paving the way for Mao’s “revolution”. In Taiwan, Sun is officially the “Father of the Nation”.
Cheng said the KMT has honored Sun’s founding principles by transforming Taiwan into a democratic society, while also acknowledging the 38 years of KMT-imposed martial law that lasted until 1987, known as the “White Terror.”
“Similarly, on the mainland too, we have seen progress and development far beyond everyone’s expectations and imaginations,” he said.
Cross-Strait tensions rise
China severed high-level contacts with Taiwan in 2016 after the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen won the presidency and publicly rejected Beijing’s claims to the island.
Since then, cross-Strait relations have steadily deteriorated, with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rhetoric not ruling out the use of force to bring Taiwan under direct rule. China regularly conducts large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, sometimes using fighter jets and warships to simulate a blockade of the island.
Beijing refuses to talk to Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, saying he is a “separatist”.
KMT leader calls for ‘peace’ in Taiwan Strait
Cheng tried to ease tensions during his remarks Wednesday. “The two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not doomed to war, as the international community fears,” he said.
“I hope that today we will sow the seeds of peace not only for the Chinese people on both sides of the strait, but for all humanity,” Cheng said Wednesday in remarks broadcast by Taiwanese media.
“We must work together to promote reconciliation and unity across the Straits and build regional prosperity and peace.”
Speaking to reporters at the parliament in Taipei on Wednesday, Tsai Ming-yen, director general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, said China uses military intimidation and harassment to create an environment of increased military threat and instability across the Taiwan Strait.
“It is intended to make Taiwanese society and people feel the psychological pressure and anxiety of a possible conflict,” Tsai said.
“It aims to internally divide Taiwanese society, promoting the visibility of pro-China positions. It may also hinder efforts to pursue US arms purchase deals.”
Taiwan’s ruling party condemns KMT leader’s visit to China
Amid Cheng’s visit to China, DPP spokesman Wu Cheng said that if the KMT really wants stability across the strait, it should stop blocking the $40 billion defense spending supplement in parliament.
“Peace has never come from the charity of dictators; it must be secured by Taiwan’s own strength,” he said in a statement.
Lai’s government has said Cheng should tell officials in Beijing, including President Xi – she should meet with him – that China should stop its military aggression and respect the right of the Taiwanese people to choose their own future.
Edited by: Carl Sexton