KMT’s Cheng Li‑wan meets Xi, urges cross‑strait ties
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- Cheng Li-wun spent a week in mainland China, visiting Nanjing and Beijing as part of a high‑profile KMT trip.
- Kuomintang (KMT) has maintained party‑to‑party talks with Beijing regularly since 2005.
- Xi Jinping told Cheng that Taiwan compatriots have never forgotten their mainland roots and that the trend of closer cross‑strait ties will not change.
- Cheng Li-wun emphasized that most Taiwanese descend from mainland ancestors, share Chinese surnames, language, festivals and deities, and that Chinese culture is part of Taiwan’s DNA.
- US intelligence agencies once projected a possible Taiwan Strait war as early as 2027, but that timeline has since been pushed back.
- Wall Street Journal mocked Cheng’s visit, calling it a "charitable interpretation" that Taiwan’s party thinks soothing Xi is the best bet.
Why it matters: U.S. national security benefits from reduced risk of a Taiwan Strait conflict, as Cheng’s diplomatic overture could lower the chance of American troops being drawn into a war; meanwhile, policymakers who rely on a deterrence‑heavy stance lose a key narrative for sustained military buildup.
