Taiwan opposition leader heads to China

Cheng Li-wun, known for her anti-independence views, will become the first Kuomintang party chair to visit the mainland in ten years

The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), is traveling to mainland China, marking the first such visit since 2016. Known as a vocal opponent of the island’s possible independence, Cheng Li-wun was invited by Chinese President Xi Jinping for what she has described as a peace-building mission.

Taiwan de facto became a self-governed territory after Chinese nationalist forces lost in the civil war against the communists and fled there in 1949. Beijing considers the island part of its sovereign territory under the One China policy, which the vast majority of countries also recognize.

Cheng’s visit will start on Tuesday and is expected to conclude on Sunday, with the KMT chair leading a party delegation. She has said she hopes to meet Xi personally as part of her pursuit of “cross-strait peace and stability.”

Speaking to NBC News ahead of the visit, Cheng argued that “in Taiwan, we must do everything in our power to prevent a war in the Taiwan Strait,” adding that she does not want the island to “become the next Ukraine.”

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Late last month, the opposition leader also said that the “entire world follows the ‘one China’ policy and does not support Taiwanese independence, including [our] long-time ally, the US.”

A fervent pro-independence activist in her youth, Cheng had a change of heart later in life, and was elected KMT chair last November.

While the party has for years advocated closer economic ties and cultural exchanges with mainland China, its new leader appears to have doubled down on this stance.

“For the safety, well-being, and future of 23 million people, we must jointly demonstrate the utmost sincerity and goodwill to resolve cross-strait differences,” she has argued.

Cheng has also criticized Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s push to increase military spending, and KMT lawmakers have blocked the passage of a $39-billion defense bill in parliament.

“If cross-strait relations are peaceful and stable, we don’t need a pointless arms race,” Cheng has said.