Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in San Francisco on Tuesday last week said if she had not met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), she would have been “just a plain” and “even negligible” KMT chairperson, bluntly signaling the role she is playing in her visit to the US — Beijing’s messenger from Taiwan.
Cheng and her delegation arrived in the US on Monday last week for a two-week visit across five major cities. Her party said the group is scheduled to meet with US lawmakers, officials, policy experts and businesspeople.
Before departing, Cheng said her trip is aimed at helping to keep the US out of an “avoidable war,” to help the US understand that the KMT “has been the most loyal and responsible force capable of maintaining cross-strait peace,” and to help ease cross-strait tensions, which would bring a “peace bonus” to the Indo-Pacific region.
Cheng, the chair of the largest party in Taiwan’s legislature, has not said anything about bringing the true voices of Taiwanese to the US, nor has she appeared to truly listen to or exchange ideas with people she has met in the US.
However, she has parroted Beijing’s narratives during her comments during the trip.
On Friday, in a meeting with Chinese diaspora communities in Boston, she said the so-called “1992 consensus” and the idea that “both sides of the Strait are one China” are the political foundations for cross-strait communication, by leaving space for “seeking common ground while reserving differences” — a foundational diplomatic principle proposed by former Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (周恩來) and commonly used in Chinese diplomacy.
It was also used by Xi in a speech addressed to Taiwanese titled “Working Together to Realize Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation and Advance China’s Peaceful Reunification” in January 2019, in which he emphasized China’s slogan of “peaceful reunification” and its “one country, two systems” plan for Taiwan.
In the same meeting, Cheng said the only choice available to Taiwanese is peace, but that does not mean Taiwan has to sacrifice its democracy and freedom, adding that if both sides of the Strait team up, it could result in unimaginable achievements.
More important than what Cheng said was what she omitted. She did not explain how “peace” would be achieved, whether it meant reunification with China, how democracy and freedom would be protected, or why Taiwan must accept China’s “peaceful unification” framework.
The idea that “peace” is the only option available is a framework that Beijing wants to force on Taiwanese, using local influencers such as Cheng to spread such disinformation, while concealing that the fundamental threat to the peaceful “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region is China’s expansionist ambitions to reshape global order and seek regional primacy.
Cheng failed to explain why Taiwan should align with China rather than other “strong forces,” especially amid intensifying US-China competition and democratic derisking efforts. She also did not clarify whether the “unimaginable achievements” she cited meant gaining industrial and technological advantages over the US.
US media clearly understand Cheng’s real intentions. The Wall Street Journal covered Cheng’s trip with the headline “Taiwan’s Opposition Leader Comes to US With a Message Straight Out of Beijing.” A Fox News anchor explicitly labeled her as “Beijing’s person” in Taiwan.
CNA reported on May 21 that American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said international media had formed an impression that the KMT “has started to adopt or emulate CCP [Chinese Communist Party] positions on key diplomatic and security issues,” while not considering US or Japanese interests. He added that Cheng’s visit to the US “should offer an opportunity to address those concerns” and clarify the KMT’s stance on issues including defense-industry investment. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and senior officials have repeatedly reaffirmed support for maintaining the Taiwan Strait “status quo” and opposing unilateral changes by force or coercion.
However, Cheng does not seem to care about addressing the US’ concerns and has even said that her role as the leader of Taiwan’s largest opposition party does not matter, and that only her meeting with Xi adds weight to her words.
Moreover, she also took on the CCP’s position of blaming Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party for pushing Taiwan to the brink of war, when in reality, Beijing is using force and coercion — though military incursions, cyberespionage, disinformation campaigns and economic coercions — in an attempt to unilaterally change the “status quo,” not only in the Taiwan Strait, but also in the Indo-Pacific region.
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