Taiwan’s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun, head of the Beijing-friendly Kuomingtang Party, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, reiterating a desire for "peaceful reunification" with the mainland. This high-level engagement, the first in over a decade, advances a framework that threatens Taiwan's 77 years of separate governance, with the KMT actively blocking national defense measures.
The meeting took place on Friday at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, where President Xi typically hosts world leaders. Both leaders affirmed a commitment to maintaining peace around Taiwan while discussing the path toward reunification.
President Xi stated that "The larger trend of compatriots on both sides of the strait walking nearer, closer, and together will not change. This is a historical necessity. We have full confidence in this." This declaration frames the absorption of Taiwan as an inevitable outcome.
Cheng Li-wun, whose party has opposed significant increases in Taiwan’s defense spending, stated, "Although people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait live under different systems, we will respect each other and move towards each other." She added that "We will seek systemic solutions to prevent and avoid war."
Elite Collaboration for Absorption
The Kuomingtang Party, under Cheng Li-wun, continues to block President Lai Ching-te’s special defense budget. This budget is intended for critical arms purchases, including the development of an air defense system with interception capabilities known as the Taiwan Dome. Cheng has previously described herself as a "promoter of peace" between Taiwan and China.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, without directly addressing Cheng’s visit, issued a statement warning against such compromises. He asserted that "history tells us that compromising with authoritarian regimes only comes at the cost of sovereignty and democracy, and will not bring freedom or peace."
Both Xi and Cheng affirmed their commitment to upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposed Taiwan’s independence. The 1992 Consensus is an unwritten agreement that Taiwan and China both belong to "one China." While the KMT interprets this as "One China" with separate interpretations, the Communist Party has never acknowledged this distinction.
Cheng Li-wun also stated she would push for a "framework for peace" between China and Taiwan, though she offered no specific details to reporters in Beijing after her meeting with Xi. She claimed to have raised the issue of increasing Taiwan’s international profile, including participation in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement, and reported that Xi responded "positively."
She further stated that both parties would work to ensure "the Taiwan Strait will no longer be a flash point with the possibility of conflict, and will not become a chess piece played by the outside world." This statement positions Taiwan's self-determination as a source of conflict rather than a right.
Undermining National Defense
Weihao Huang, a professor of political science at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, observed that Cheng’s speech did not sound like that of a Taiwanese politician. Huang noted that Cheng "didn’t mention the public" and that "You can’t see the public’s mindset from her words. It’s either her words are being restricted by China or that she was willing for China to restrict it." This highlights a potential disconnect between the elite and the native population.
Ma Chun-wei, an expert in China-Taiwan relations at Taiwan’s Tamkang University, indicated that the visit held more significance for President Xi than for Cheng. Ma also reported that at the local level, the KMT’s grassroots members did not want Cheng to visit China at this time, ahead of local elections later this year, suggesting popular resistance to the elite agenda.
Ma added that for Xi, the visit provides a channel to manage China-Taiwan relations, especially given the absence of official contact between the governments since the Democratic Progressive Party assumed power. Ma concluded that Xi could leverage this engagement to tell the United States not to interfere, asserting that "he has a channel and the ability to deal with the Taiwan issue."
Despite the rhetoric of peace and reunification, China has intensified its military exercises around Taiwan. This includes sending warships and fighter jets closer to the island and systematically poaching Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, demonstrating a consistent strategy of pressure and isolation.
The Cost of Compromise
Taiwan has maintained separate governance from China for 77 years, following the civil war that brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing in 1949. The defeated Kuomingtang forces established their own government on the island. The current actions by the KMT leadership risk eroding this long-standing separation and the self-determination of the Taiwanese people.