Rhetoric used by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during his nine previous meetings with current, former or honorary Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairpersons shows that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has no plan to change its policy on Taiwan, an official said today.
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed today on a six-day trip to China, where she is expected to meet with Xi in Beijing near the end of her visit.
In February 2013, Xi met with then-KMT honorary chairman Lien Chan (連戰), marking the first time he met with a KMT leader since becoming CCP general secretary in November 2012.
Photo: AFP
During the meeting, Xi declared the need to "promote peaceful unification," while Lien proposed "one China, cross-strait peace."
In June of the same year, Xi met with then-KMT honorary chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), stating that the CCP and the KMT should adhere to the "one China" principle.
Lien held additional meetings with Xi in 2014, 2015 and 2018, and also attended a CCP military parade in Tiananmen Square in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
In 2015, then-KMT chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) met Xi in China, during which the KMT expressed hope to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank based on the so-called "1992 consensus."
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted that he made up the term in 2000 to break the cross-strait deadlock and alleviate tension.
In November 2015, Xi met with then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in Singapore, where each addressed the other with the honorific "mister," with no mention of the Republic of China (ROC).
During her meeting with Xi in 2016, then-KMT chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) mentioned signing a cross-strait peace agreement and advocated "seeking the common ground of the ‘one China’ principle while reserving differences in its meaning."
During his second meeting with then-former president Ma in April 2024, Xi said that differences in cross-strait systems "cannot change the objective fact that both sides belong to one country and one nation."
An official familiar with the CCP's “united front” tactics said today that Xi's nine meetings with KMT leaders prove that he would not change its Taiwan policy, regardless of which KMT figure he meets.
Most Taiwanese support peace, but the CCP's goal is to eliminate the ROC and annex Taiwan, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The itinerary for Cheng’s current trip to China was entirely orchestrated by China's Taiwan Affairs Office, reducing the KMT to a “united front” tool with no parity or dignity, the official said.
The CCP is still observing Cheng's behavior, and a meeting with Xi would only be finalized if she says things that satisfy Beijing, they added.
If Cheng meets Xi, she should boldly speak the name of the ROC and demand the CCP face the reality of the ROC's existence, the official said.
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