KMT leader defends China engagement in Washington visit
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- Cheng Li-wun told reporters she met nine US Congress members from finance, defence, and foreign affairs committees, plus academics and think-tank representatives, to correct 'many misunderstandings' about the KMT's pro-engagement China approach following her April meeting with Xi Jinping.
- Taiwan's opposition-controlled legislature passed a US$25 billion special defence budget last month for major US arms purchases — down by a third from the US$40 billion originally proposed — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Washington hawks.
- Republican Senator Dan Sullivan warned the KMT was 'playing with fire' over the defence spending cuts, which China hawks argue are essential to strengthen Taiwan's defences against Beijing.
- Cheng defended the party's dual track, saying that initiating cross-strait dialogue with Xi 'doesn't mean that we will give up the deterrence strength in Taiwan' or 'compromise or give up our democracy and freedom,' and that the KMT is seriously considering proposing its own defence spending legislation.
- Cheng declined to comment on Trump's remark that a pending US$14 billion US arms sale to Taiwan was a 'very good negotiating chip,' saying the issue did not come up in her Washington meetings, though she confirmed she also met Trump administration representatives.
- Cheng described Xi as 'very gentle and very nice and very real' and said she believed the Chinese leader wants to address the Taiwan issue 'with peaceful means and avoid war,' while also praising Trump's May summit with Xi as contributing to peace and stability.
- US Congress has given preliminary approval to a US$14 billion Taiwan arms sales package, but the Trump administration has yet to greenlight it, leaving the deal in limbo as Cheng's party holds a parliamentary majority with its small Taiwan People's Party ally.
Why it matters: With the KMT and its Taiwan People's Party ally controlling parliament and having already slashed defence spending from $40B to $25B, Washington's willingness to release the pending $14B arms package now hinges partly on whether US lawmakers are convinced the opposition is genuinely committed to deterrence — making Cheng's charm offensive a direct bid to keep that pipeline open.
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