TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's government warned of high-intensity oversight for meeting with the Chinese Communist Party after the main opposition leader landed in Shanghai on Tuesday (April 7) for the first such visit in a decade. Kuomintang Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), who arrived in the afternoon at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport for a six-day trip, said she wants to prove that peace with Beijing is "possible."
Song Tao (宋濤), director of the China's Taiwan Affairs Office (國務院台灣事務辦公室), Beijing's agency responsible for Taiwan policy, led a delegation of officials to receive her. Welcoming crowds presented flowers as Cheng stepped off the aircraft. Song told Cheng he came on the instructions of the CCP Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping (習近平) to welcome her.
"I want to prove to the DPP through this trip that cross-strait peace is actually not that difficult," Cheng told reporters at a pre-departure press conference in Taipei. She added that if the KMT and CCP can reconcile and work together for peace, Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties should also be able to reconcile. Cheng stated there would be no "Lai-Xi meeting" without a "Lai-Cheng meeting" first, positioning herself as a potential intermediary between President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Xi.
The Mainland Affairs Council (陸委會), Taiwan's cabinet-level agency handling cross-strait policy, issued a written response urging Cheng to raise three demands with Xi: that Beijing recognize the existence of the Republic of China, respect the will of Taiwan's people regarding Taiwan's future, and immediately stop military aircraft and vessels from harassing Taiwan. "We hope Chairperson Cheng will not be evasive and will loudly voice the demands of Taiwan's people," the MAC stated. The council said only if Beijing positively responds can its sincerity be demonstrated.
MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) urged Cheng not to become a tool of the CCP's "united front" efforts to divide Taiwan. Chiu said Cheng should take seriously that China's ambition to annex Taiwan remains unchanged. He added that evidence of instructions, commissions or funding from hostile foreign forces has been difficult to prove, making infiltration cases hard to establish under current law.
"Chairperson Cheng has come for cross-strait peace. I wish this trip success," Song said. The delegation traveled by Fuxing high-speed train (復興號) to Nanjing, where Song was scheduled to host a dinner Tuesday evening. On the train, Cheng told Song: "This visit is truly precious. This rare peace opportunity must be seized." She noted her last visit to Shanghai was 20 years ago and that the city has transformed into an international financial hub.
The 14-member KMT delegation includes Vice Chairman and Secretary General Lee Chien-lung (李乾龍), Vice Chairman Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭), Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) and Central Evaluation Committee Chairman Su Chi (蘇起). The delegation is scheduled to visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing on Wednesday, then return to Shanghai to meet with Taiwanese businesspeople Thursday before traveling to Beijing.
Cheng is scheduled to meet Xi in Beijing on Friday, a summit that will test whether her peace mission can produce concrete results. The KMT did not immediately respond to the MAC's three demands. Whether Cheng will raise them with Xi, as Taiwan's government urged, remains unclear. ◼