taipei, taiwan– Taiwanese opposition leader Cheng Li-wun is visiting China on Tuesday at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, calling it a “trip for peace” as Beijing calls for the self-ruled island to be brought under its control.
The visit is the first by an opposition leader to Taiwan in a decade and comes ahead of a meeting in Beijing between Xi and US President Donald Trump in May.
Before leaving Taipei, the Kuomintang chairwoman told reporters that Taiwan should spare no effort to seize any opportunity to prevent war and promote peace.
China claims the self-ruled island and has not ruled out using force to take it.
“This visit to mainland China aims to show the world that it is not just Taiwan that hopes for peace unilaterally,” Cheng said.
“I believe that through this journey for peace, everyone is even more eager to see the sincerity and determination of the CPC Central Committee to use peaceful dialogue and exchanges to resolve all possible differences between the two sides,” he said, referring to the initials of the Communist Party of China.
A few dozen of Cheng’s supporters and critics appeared at Taipei airport chanting slogans and carrying placards.
Trump administration announced in December A big package of arms sales The deal cost Taiwan more than $10 billion and includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, angering Beijing.
Beijing has barred all its diplomatic partners, including the US, from maintaining formal ties with Taipei. The US is the island’s strongest unofficial supporter and arms provider, and arms sales are expected to be discussed at the Xi-Trump summit.
In a call between Xi and Trump in February, the Chinese leader said “Taiwan will never be allowed to secede from China,” according to a Chinese government statement about ongoing talks at the time. “The United States should handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan wisely,” it said.
Beijing also said that “the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations.”
China is sending warplanes and naval ships toward Taiwan on an almost daily basis, and its military recently conducted two major military exercises around the island. The most recent exercise took place in December after the US announced the arms sale, and included the deployment of air, naval and missile units. Combined Live-Fire Drill.
The US State Department said such activities “needlessly escalate tensions” and called on Beijing to cease military pressure against Taiwan.
China does not negotiate with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, calling him a separatist.
Cheng will be in China at a time when the opposition-controlled parliament has blocked efforts by the Taiwan government to pass a resolution. $40 billion special defense budget.
