Xi Jinping met with the Kuomintang leader for the first time in nearly ten years
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Chen Li-wen, leader of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, for the first time in a long while. The talks took place on 10 April in Beijing during her six-day visit to China, according to Vietnam.vn.
The meeting marked the first time in a decade that a Kuomintang leader had headed a delegation to mainland China. Before arriving in Beijing, the delegation visited Jiangsu Province, Shanghai and Nanjing.
During the meeting, Xi Jinping stated that reunification with the mainland is a historical inevitability. According to him, regardless of the international situation, the trend towards rapprochement and unification of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will not change.
He also said that, on the basis of opposing Taiwanese independence, Beijing would cooperate with all political parties, groups and individuals in Taiwan to ensure that the future of cross-strait relations remains in the hands of the Chinese people themselves.
The Chinese leader emphasised that a common political foundation must be based on the 1992 Consensus and the stance against Taiwanese independence. He said that people on both sides of the Strait aspire to peace, stability, improved relations and a better quality of life.
Xi Jinping also stated that different social systems should not be a cause for division, and that the key issue is the recognition that both sides of the strait belong to one China. He added that Beijing welcomes proposals aimed at the peaceful development of relations, and described the Taiwan independence movement as the main factor undermining peace in the region.
Separately, Xi Jinping expressed his willingness to strengthen dialogue and exchanges with all political parties in Taiwan, including the Kuomintang. He also said that mainland China is open to Taiwanese people, encourages young people to seek opportunities for development, and is opening its market to agricultural products, seafood and other goods from Taiwan.
Chen Li-wen stated that the two sides would jointly launch a project to revive Chinese civilisation. She noted that, although people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait live under different systems, they must respect one another and move towards each other.
The Kuomintang leader also said that people on both sides of the Strait are Chinese and belong to one family. According to her, the two parties must uphold a common political foundation based on the 1992 Consensus and the stance against Taiwanese independence, strengthen political trust and expand cooperation in various fields.
She described dialogue between the sides as a historic duty to prevent conflicts and maintain regional stability. Chen Li-wen emphasised that all parties can participate in the dialogue if they prioritise shared interests.
During her visit to Nanjing, Chen Li-wen, at the mausoleum of Kuomintang founder Sun Yat-sen, called on both sides of the strait to avoid armed conflict. She said that China’s misfortunes had never stemmed solely from external imperialist forces, but were largely the result of internal contradictions and divisions that led to mutual destruction.
Later in Beijing, Chen Li-wen told reporters that Xi Jinping had told her of China’s respect for Taiwan’s different social system and the island’s choice of way of life. At the same time, she said, he expressed the hope that Taiwan would recognise the mainland’s achievements in development.
Chen Li-wen also expressed a willingness to forge closer ties with China. She stated that if the Kuomintang returns to power in 2028, the party will resume relations with Beijing.
The Kuomintang has lost three consecutive presidential elections to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which has refused to endorse Beijing’s concept of a single Chinese nation. Beijing severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in 2016 after Taiwan’s then-President Tsai Ing-wen refused to support this idea.
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