Taiwan's opposition leader arrives in China for a 'Journey of Peace'

Asia Taiwan's opposition leader arrives in China for a 'Journey of Peace' April 7, 20265:49 AM ET By  Ashish Valentine ,  Jennifer Pak Taiwan's main opposition party KMT chairperson Cheng Li-wun attends a press conference at the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club in Taipei on March 23, 2026. I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption I-Hwa Cheng/AFP via Getty Images Taiwan's main opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun of the Kuomintang Party (KMT), arrived in China on Tuesday for a rare six-day visit that she has called a peace mission. Asia The Taiwanese president's proposal to hike defense spending faces gridlock at home It comes as China is stepping up military drills around the island, a democracy claimed by Beijing as its own territory, and the U.S. pressures Taiwan to spend billions on American weapons. Speaking to reporters just before she boarded a plane in Taipei, Cheng stressed the need for dialogue with Beijing. "If you truly love Taiwan, you will seize every opportunity and every possibility to prevent Taiwan from being ravaged by war," she said. "Preserving peace is preserving Taiwan." Sponsor Message China's State Council's Taiwan Affairs office said the visit will have a "significant" and "positive impact" on maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, according to Chinese state-run news agency, Xinhua. Cheng and a delegation of other KMT officials will visit the eastern cities of Shanghai and Nanjing before arriving in Beijing, where Taiwan's media is widely reporting she may meet Chinese president Xi Jinping. It's the first visit of a sitting KMT leader to China in nearly a decade. "I don't think [the visit] is a very good thing," Wen Wen-fu, a businessman from New Taipei City who was waiting to fly to Shanghai, said right after Cheng's plane took off. "Her party of course is closer to China and the ruling party is more pro-U.S.…the most important thing is to consider the wishes of the more than 23 million people in T...