Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) is leading a delegation to China through Sunday. She is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing tomorrow. That date coincides with the anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which marked a cornerstone of Taiwan-US relations. Staging their meeting on this date makes it clear that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intends to challenge the US and demonstrate its “authority” over Taiwan.
Since the US severed official diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it has relied on the TRA as a legal basis for all forms of interaction with the nation. The act was passed by the US Congress and signed into law by then-US president Jimmy Carter, giving it the highest possible legal status. Even the Three Joint Communiques announced by the US and China in 1972, 1979 and 1982 do not possess sufficient legal standing to override the TRA.
Key provisions of the TRA include a commitment by the US “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character” and to “maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people on Taiwan.”
The two pillars that have safeguarded Taiwan’s security over the past decades — US arms sales and the potential for US military intervention — are grounded in the TRA.
The CCP’s announcement of Cheng’s visit to China came after the White House said US President Donald Trump would visit China from May 14 to 15. Beijing deliberately scheduled the Cheng-Xi meeting ahead of the one between Trump and Xi.
These arrangements clearly targets the Taiwan-US relationship. By leveraging the Cheng-Xi meeting, Beijing seeks to counter the TRA and use the KMT to draw Taiwan closer to China’s side, while shaping international opinion to offset Taiwan-US ties. It could then leverage what it says is a KMT-backed “mainstream public opinion” in Taiwan and the opposition-controlled legislative blocking of US arms purchases to challenge the US during the Trump-Xi meeting.
China’s decision to hold the Cheng-Xi meeting tomorrow reveals its ulterior motives. That Cheng agreed to go along with this is not only incredibly naive, but is also a betrayal of Taiwan.
Huang Wei-ping works in public service.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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