Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun visits China in an unusual gesture and in the midst of bilateral tension
The leader will stay six days in the country, with an agenda that includes visits to Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing. Among her objectives is a possible meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, before a planned trip to the United States.
Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wen arriving at Shanghai International Airport.
The chairwoman of Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, Cheng Li-wun, began an unusual visit to China on Tuesday with the stated aim of fostering a climate of "peace" between the two sides, at a time of growing pressure from Beijing on Taiwan, according to AFP.
A trip unheard of in a decade
Cheng becomes the first KMT leader to visit China in the last ten years. She arrived in Shanghai, where she was received with official protocol before being driven in a motorcade, according to footage released by Taiwanese media and China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
The leader will stay six days in the country, with an agenda that includes visits to Shanghai, Nanjing and Beijing. Among her objectives is a possible meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, before a planned trip to the United States, Taiwan's main security ally.
Message of calm amid mounting pressure
Before leaving, Cheng defended the need to low down tensions and avoid military escalation. "Taiwan must do everything possible to prevent a war from breaking out. To preserve peace is to preserve Taiwan," he said in Taipei, the agency reported.
Before departing, Cheng defended the need to ease tensions and avoid a military escalation. "Taiwan must do everything possible to prevent a war from breaking out. Preserving peace means preserving Taiwan," she said in Taipei, according to the agency.
The trip comes in a context of increasing pressure from China on the island, which it considers part of its territory and over which it does not rule out the use of force to achieve reunification.
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Political division in Taiwan
However, Cheng's visit has generated criticism within Taiwan, where some sectors accuse her of adopting a position excessively close to Beijing. The last time a KMT leader made a similar trip was in 2016, when then-party chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu visited China.
A gesture with strategic implications
Cheng Li-wun's trip is being interpreted as an attempt to reopen political channels at a particularly sensitive time for the region. The combination of political dialogue, military pressure and international alliances keeps the balance in the Taiwan Strait in a highly sensitive situation.
According to AFP, this visit could influence both Taiwanese domestic politics and the dynamics of relations between Beijing, Taipei and Washington in the coming months.
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