Opposition Leader's Visit to China
The leader of Taiwan's main opposition party has arrived in China and is anticipated to meet President Xi Jinping during a closely observed visit.
Cheng Li-wun, who assumed the role of Kuomintang (KMT) chairperson last year, stated that she "gladly accepted" President Xi Jinping's invitation to visit and hopes to serve as a "bridge for peace".
Her six-day trip will include stops in Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing, with a meeting with Xi expected later during the visit. Cheng is the first incumbent KMT chief to visit China in ten years.
Background on Cross-Strait Relations
Beijing severed some communications with Taiwan after the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen became president in May 2016, citing Tsai's refusal to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation.
China regards self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be reunified with the mainland and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this goal.
Many people in Taiwan consider themselves a sovereign nation. However, most support maintaining "the status quo," meaning they neither want to formally declare independence nor pursue unification with China.
Domestic Reactions to Cheng's Visit
On Tuesday, Taiwan's ruling party, the DPP, criticized Cheng for being "subservient" to Beijing, noting that her trip would be "completely controlled" by the Communist Party.
The DPP accused Beijing of being the "main culprit in disrupting regional peace," adding that China has continued to dispatch warplanes and naval vessels around Taiwan.
Premier Cho Jung-tai said the government would closely monitor Cheng's trip.
KMT's Approach and Political Context
Although the KMT has traditionally maintained warm ties with China, Cheng's eagerness to visit contrasts with her predecessors' more cautious approach towards cross-strait relations, according to some analysts.
Her trip occurs amid growing skepticism about the US in Taiwan, "largely stemming from [Donald] Trump's mixed signals on his Taiwan policy and the Middle East conflict," says William Yang, North East Asia analyst at the non-profit think tank International Crisis Group.
"Cheng sees this as an opportunity for her to present herself as the political leader capable of maintaining cross-strait exchange and potentially reducing cross-strait tension," Yang says.
While the US maintains formal diplomatic ties with Beijing rather than Taiwan, it has been Taiwan's largest arms supplier for decades. In recent years, Trump has stated that Taiwan should pay the US for defending it against China.
Last week, a bipartisan US delegation visited Taipei to urge parliament to pass a $40bn (£30bn) special defense spending budget. The proposal is currently stalled in the opposition-dominated parliament.
Timing and Strategic Implications
Xi's invitation to Cheng comes weeks before he is scheduled to meet Trump, who plans to visit Beijing on 14 and 15 May.
"Beijing wants a cordial meeting with Taiwan's opposition to undermine the argument for US-Taiwan defence cooperation," says Wen-ti Sung, a political scientist with the Australian National University's Taiwan Centre.
This approach would allow China to focus on "cutting business deals" with the US during Trump's visit rather than addressing cross-strait issues, Sung explains.
For Cheng and the KMT, this visit could be politically advantageous ahead of Taiwan's local elections later this year.
Cheng's Political Positioning
Despite beginning her political career as a pro-independence advocate, Cheng has recently sought to cultivate a reputation as a peace builder.
"She is trying to thread a needle between the US and China... to strengthen her leadership stature while highlighting Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's failure to resume engagement with the Chinese side," says Yang.
Within Taiwan, however, Cheng's accommodating stance toward Beijing has been unpopular, according to political scientist Chong Ja-Ian of the National University of Singapore.
"Many do read Cheng as a fair-weather politician, an opportunist with little principle, and a politician that cares about her own position more than anything else," Chong says.
"That is a reason why the polls show little confidence in her.
That also means that she is willing to wheel and deal," Chong adds. "Who this benefits, and how much, are the bigger questions."
