Why KMT leader’s planned visit to Beijing is under scrutiny in Taiwan

A high-stakes visit to mainland China by the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), during which she is expected to meet Communist Party…

A high-stakes visit to mainland China by the chairwoman of Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), during which she is expected to meet Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and promote cross-strait peace, is under scrutiny in Taipei.

Cheng Li-wun is set to depart for Shanghai on Tuesday for a six-day trip, with local media reporting a possible meeting with Xi in Beijing on Thursday – the first such encounter between the two parties’ leaders in a decade.

However, Cheng’s coming visit has drawn criticism from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and unease within parts of the KMT, underscoring the political sensitivity of opposition engagement with Beijing amid heightened cross-strait tensions.

The DPP has framed the trip as politically problematic, coinciding with a contentious partisan stand-off over its proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39 billion) in special defence spending.

Taiwanese leader William Lai says engagement with Beijing carries risks. Photo: AFP

The DPP said Beijing’s decision to host Cheng while the KMT continued to block arms procurement in the island’s legislature had fuelled suspicion of a quid pro quo: stalling arms purchases in exchange for a Cheng-Xi meeting.

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