TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), chairwoman of the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), visited the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (中山陵) in Nanjing on Wednesday (April 8) morning to pay respects to Sun Yat-sen, the party's founding father. The event, heavily guarded by plainclothes officers, public security, and special police, drew hundreds of onlookers.
The mausoleum area enforced strict controls on the day of the visit. Visitors needed to book in advance and verify their identities by showing their I.D. cards and QR codes. Unregistered individuals were required to check availability at the tourist center. The majority of attendees were local Chinese citizens, indicating that the mainland views the event as a domestic affair rather than an international one.
After her morning visit to the mausoleum, Cheng will meet with the Jiangsu provincial party secretary. She will then travel by high-speed rail to Shanghai, where she will tour the Shanghai Riverside Industrial Zone (上海濱江工業區) in the afternoon and meet with the Shanghai municipal party secretary in the evening.
Cheng's visit to mainland China follows an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). The Taiwan Affairs Office (國台辦) stated that this visit aligns with the "mainstream public opinion of Taiwan" and will gain approval and support from the Taiwanese people. Cheng's China visit will last six days, and she will a delegation to Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Beijing.