A delegation from the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT), led by its Chair Cheng Li‑wun, arrived in Shanghai at noon on Tuesday for a visit to mainland China that will last until Sunday.
The delegation is scheduled to travel to Jiangsu Province, Shanghai, and Beijing. This marks the first time in ten years that a KMT chair has led a delegation to the mainland.
The visit is regarded as an important step in exchanges and dialogue between the KMT and the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the current context.
According to a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, strengthening exchanges and dialogue between the two parties will have a significant and positive impact on maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and promoting the peaceful development of cross‑strait relations.
Ms. Cheng was elected KMT chair last October. Since taking office, she has repeatedly expressed her intention to visit the mainland.
After accepting the invitation, Ms. Cheng stated at a press conference in Taipei that the visit aligns with mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.
“We have a choice,” she said. “For the good of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, for regional stability, and for the well‑being of future generations, we must firmly choose the path of peace.”
She emphasized that this visit, like those of former KMT chairs Lien Chan and Ma Ying‑jeou, rests on the same political foundations — respect for the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the principle of one China, and opposition to “Taiwan independence.”
The Taiwan question is a scar left by the civil war between forces led by the CPC and the KMT about eight decades ago. In 1949, the remnants of the defeated KMT retreated to Taiwan, while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded under CPC leadership.
This unresolved civil war and foreign interference have left the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in prolonged political confrontation. However, the fact that Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory remains unchanged.
In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted Resolution 2758, affirming that the government of the PRC is the sole legitimate representative of all of China. The international community widely recognizes that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.
Source : China-France Dialogue