Taiwan's opposition leader seeks to win friends in China with a high-stakes visit

AsiaTaiwan's opposition leader seeks to win friends in China with a high-stakes visitIt is unclear how Cheng Li-wun's embrace of China sits with Taiwan's public, which is now less confident the U.S. will come to the island's aid in the event of a conflict.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleTaiwan's opposition leader pursues talks with Beijing ahead of Trump visit03:20Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 4, 2026, 8:32 AM EDTBy Janis Mackey FrayerTAIPEI, Taiwan — A few weeks before President Donald Trump arrives in China next month, Chinese President Xi Jinping will have another visitor: Taiwan’s opposition leader.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.When Cheng Li-wun, chairperson of Taiwan’s Nationalist Party, touches down in China on Tuesday, it will mark the first time in a decade that the head of her party visits the mainland.It will also be a defining step for Cheng, 56, who took the reins of the party — also known as the Kuomintang or KMT — in November, in a political about-face that has made her a divisive figure in Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.Her view is that the island of 23 million people urgently needs to engage with China to avoid war, and that people should “be able to proudly and confidently say, ‘I am Chinese.’”00:43China carries out live-fire military drills near Taiwan00:0000:00The KMT has traditionally kept warm ties with Beijing. Yet Cheng’s push to embrace China is a major pivot from the views she held when she entered politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as a vocal student activist urging Taiwan's independence.Back then, Cheng was known for her criticism of the KMT, which ruled Taiwan under martial law until 1987. Now, as party leader, she is taking a deliberate turn toward China, even as it ramps up military and other pressure on the island.“The world vie...