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2d ago

Taiwan Opposition Leader Visits China on ‘Peace’ Mission as Chinese Military Pressure Persists

The six-day visit reopens a party channel Beijing can use to influence Taiwan’s defense debate over U.S. weapons.

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Cheng Li-wun, the chairwoman of Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang attends an event in Taipei, Taiwan March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo
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FILE - Cheng Li-wun, newly elected chairperson of Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), cheers during a party congress in Taipei, Taiwan, on Nov. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

Overview

  • Cheng Li-wun arrived in China on Tuesday for a six-day visit, the first by a KMT leader in a decade, with a meeting with Xi Jinping still unconfirmed.
  • In Nanjing on Wednesday, she laid a wreath at Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum and said she hoped to plant “seeds of peace.”
  • Taiwan’s coast guard chief detailed five Chinese warships around the island — two to the east and one each to the north, northwest and southwest.
  • Taiwan’s opposition-led parliament has stalled a roughly $40 billion special defense budget, drawing DPP claims that the KMT is helping Beijing weaken deterrence.
  • The trip precedes May talks in Beijing between Xi and U.S. President Donald Trump, and officials expect Beijing to press against American arms sales to Taiwan.