Taiwan opposition leader visits China for first time in a decade

The leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party landed in China today, marking the first rare visit in a decade.

Cheng Li-wun who took over as Kuomintang (KMT) chairperson last year, gladly accepted the invitation of President Xi Jinping’s and became the party’s first incumbent chief to visit Beijing since 2016.

During the landmark visit, Li-wun also hoped to be a "bridge for peace” between the two countries.

In her six-day trip spanning the cities of Nanjing, Beijing, and Shanghai, Cheng Li-wun is expected to meet Xi during the later part of her trip.

Since 2016, the relations between China and Taiwan have been on a downward trajectory after the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen became president in May 2016. After taking over the position, Tsai refused to endorse the concept of a single Chinese nation.

According to William Yang, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, “The visit arrives at a time of deepening Taiwanese skepticism toward the US fueled primarily by Donald Trump’s inconsistent stance on Taiwan and the ongoing Middle East conflict.”

“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 added.

This diplomatic balancing act remains high-stakes. China continues to see Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland, a goal for which Beijing is willing to deploy the use of military force.

Political scientist Chong Ja-Ian of the National University of Singapore, said, “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.”

“That is a reason why the polls show little confidence in her,” he added.