Taipei, Mar 30 (EFE).- The leader of Taiwan’s largest opposition party has accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China in April, a month before US President Donald Trump meets Xi in Beijing.
Song Tao, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council (China’s executive branch), stated that since assuming the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party, KMT) in November, Cheng Li-wun «has repeatedly expressed her desire to visit the mainland,» the state news outlet Xinhua reported.
«To promote the peaceful development of relations between the KMT and the CPC and cross-strait relations, I am authorized to announce that the CPC (Chinese Communist Party) Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping welcome and invite Chairperson Cheng Li-wen to lead a KMT delegation to visit Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Beijing from April 7th to 12th,» Song stated.
During a talk with the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club last Monday, Cheng reaffirmed her intention to meet with Xi to convey that the path to peace between Beijing and Taipei is politically viable.
Taiwan has a path other than war and destruction, she said, adding that this alternative requires the effort of both sides, and that Beijing must also demonstrate goodwill and sincerity.
The former legislator won the KMT primaries last October with a conciliatory message toward Beijing, in contrast to her predecessor, Eric Chu, who did not travel to China during his four years as party chairman.
The visit comes amid tensions between Taiwan and China, which considers the island—governed autonomously since 1949—an «inalienable part» of its territory and has never ruled out the use of force to seize control.
It also comes shortly after Trump announced he will travel to China on May 14-15 to meet with Xi, a trip originally planned for late March or early April but postponed due to the Iran war.
Among the topics that could be discussed at the meeting is the sale of weapons to Taipei. In a phone call in early February, Xi urged Trump to handle the shipment of arms to Taiwan “with prudence», and stressed that the island is the «first red line» in relations between the two powers. EFE
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